The Army plans to eliminate large amounts of guinea grass and other vegetation by holding controlled burns of 1,200 acres at Schofield Barracks for a week beginning Monday to reduce the potential fuel for future brush fires.

“This year’s burn is particularly important as drought conditions caused by El Nino are posing higher than normal brush fire dangers across the state. These conditions are expected to continue through the summer,” the Army said in a statement Monday.

“Our goal is to safely conduct the prescribed burn before the brush fire season gets into full swing,” said Dan Brush, deputy director of emergency services, U.S. Army Garrison-Hawaii. “We’ll be removing highly flammable guinea grass and other vegetation that — if left unchecked — could fuel large brush fires that are difficult and expensive to contain, and endanger local communities and natural resources.”

Last year the Army burned a significant amount of guinea grass and other vegetation that had not been removed in previous years. This reduced the number of accidental/unintentional fires by about 75 percent over the year, the Army said.

Similar to last year, the Army plans to systematically burn small parts of the 1,200 acres over one week. “Army personnel have spent months preparing for the burn, removing brush around existing range firebreaks and improving roads throughout the range complex to provide better access for firefighters and emergency personnel,” the Army said.

Burn operations will take place during daylight, and Army firefighters will remain on site each night to monitor the area.