Forest Officials Say No Threat of Agent Orange

Tonto National Forest officials say that smoke from the managed fire in the Pinal Mountains is not carrying Agent Orange.

Spokesman David Albo told 3TV in Phoenix that they did use the chemical in the 1960’s, but it is not a threat today. Tests in the 1970’s showed minimal risk and tests in the 1990’s showed no risk.

The forest office has been flooded with calls complaining about smoke. Albo says they know it’s inconvenient for residents irritated by the smoke, but the trade-off is not having a catastrophic wildfire threatening local communities sometime in the future.