Army fire specialists, in coordination with the federal Fire Department, will conduct a prescribed burn of part of a 1,200-acre firing range at Schofield Barracks to enable annual range maintenance, officials said.

The Army plans to conduct the prescribed burn today; however, actual dates will depend on the weather.

The area — called a munitions "impact area" by the Army — is north of Kolekole and Trimble roads and west of the Maile Terrace, Kole-kole Ridge and Hendrickson Heights military housing complexes.

U.S. Army Garrison-Hawai'i said the prescribed burn is part of an ongoing plan to manage the range, decrease the danger of wildfires and survey for depleted uranium.

Depleted uranium was discovered from the use of aiming rounds in the late 1960s that simulated the trajectory of a Cold War weapon called the Davy Crockett.

The device, intended to fire nuclear warheads, was designed as a desperation weapon to be used against the former Soviet Union.

The Army said air monitors will be placed upwind and downwind of the prescribed burn, to continue to address public concern about depleted uranium.

Laboratory results from the air samples of Schofield's prescribed burn in 2007 showed no depleted uranium health hazard from the burn and accompanying smoke, the Army said.

The Army said it is working with the state Department of Health to share information on burns and monitoring results, and to address public concerns that may arise.