A pair of local sites will be part of a series of prescribed burns in southeast Minnesota beginning Monday.

According to the Minnesota Department of Transportation, two of the burns will take place along HIghway 218 near Blooming Prairie and Highway 56 near LeRoy. The other sites includes Eyota (Interstate 90), Harmony (Highway 52), Albert Lea (Interstate 35) and Owatonna (south of the city).

The burns, weather permitting, will take place over the coming weeks and motorists driving through these areas will encounter signs warning of the potential of smoke, a press release said Thursday.

Every year MnDOT performs the prescribed burning of grassland vegetation, providing optimal vegetation health. The healthy roadside vegetation created from these burns then provides safer clear zones, stabilizes soil, conveys runoff and treats stormwater runoff.

MnDOT urges motorists to always been attentive, drive with caution, slow down in work zones and never enter a road blocked with barriers or cones.