Georgia Forestry officials said around 60 acres of timber land was under a controlled burn Monday conducted by a consulting forester.

Denise Croker, Chief Ranger for the Polk-Paulding-Cobb County Unit, said the burn was conducted on land on Holbrook Road, off of Young's Farm Road.

She said this isn't anything unusual.

"Normally, this time of year, from January through March, we do a lot of prescribed burns for timber and cleaning up the forests," she said.

Croker said this type of burn isn't dangerous and actually helps the environment, particularly for the "pine plantations" numerous is Georgia.

She said pines, especially the long-leaf variety, need a controlled burn to grow. Croker said a burn reduces competition for water and land nutrients because it reduces underbrush and other vegetation.

"The cheaper, economical way to do that is to burn," she said.

Croker said a prescribed burn also does two other things for the environment. With the underbrush gone, she said wildlife which had previously left the area because it was too overgrown always come back into the burned area afterward to scavenge in the ashes. She said the ashes also put nutrients back into the soil for remaining vegetation.