Smoke and haze that settled over Sandy Springs on Thursday, Oct. 22, likely came from a controlled burn in Bartow County, the Sandy Springs Fire Department said in a Facebook post.

The department asked residents not to tie up emergency lines over the smell.

"Please refrain from calling 911 for an outdoor smell of smoke unless you can see smoke or flames from a source," the department wrote.

The burn took place in the Abernathy/Macedonia area near Lake Allatoona, according to the department's post, first reported by 11Alive. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Bartow County Fire & Emergency Services conducted the operation.

WSB-TV reported that the Corps carried out a 350-acre prescribed burn along Allatoona Lake. Ranger Tyler Tant with the Corps demonstrated for WSB-TV's Berndt Petersen how he used a drip torch to help start the burn, one of seven permitted burns across north Georgia on Wednesday, Oct. 21.

The Corps, however, said it did not believe smoke from its burn was responsible for complaints as far south as Sandy Springs, according to WSB-TV. The Sandy Springs Fire Department's post attributed the local haze to a controlled burn in the same Bartow County area. Which specific burn or combination of burns produced the smoke over Sandy Springs remains unclear.

Prescribed burns clear fallen leaves and limbs that can fuel uncontrolled wildfires. Tant told WSB-TV that letting debris accumulate too long creates danger.

The Georgia Sun reported that smoke could drift into low-lying areas overnight as temperatures dropped, potentially affecting residents in Roswell, Cherokee County and nearby parts of Cobb and North Fulton through Friday morning, Oct. 23. The Georgia Sun reported that people with asthma or other breathing problems should stay indoors and keep windows closed.

Bartow County Fire & Emergency Services had not independently posted about the burn on its own Facebook page as of Oct. 22, 11Alive reported.

The prescribed burns happen annually and can continue for months, according to WSB-TV. The Corps says it alerts the public in advance.