Francisco Sánchez Jr., associate administrator for the Office of Disaster Recovery and Resilience at the Small Business Administration, today reminded private nonprofit organizations in the San Carlos Apache Tribe of the Dec. 3, deadline to apply for an SBA federal disaster loan for property damage caused by Watch Fire that occurred July 10-17. Private nonprofits that provide essential services of a governmental nature are eligible for assistance.

Tonto National Forest firefighters are planning five “pit burns” on the Payson Ranger District beginning in November and continuing through March 2025 as weather and related conditions permit.

The Payson Pits prescribed fire project will remove assorted woody fuels resulting from clearing projects on federal and private lands. The Tonto’s Facebook and ‘X’ (formerly Twitter) social media pages will post specific start dates and projected end times for each prescribed fire.

With predicted moisture in the next couple of days, fire managers with the Coconino National Forest are planning on conducting pile burns 4 miles west of Flagstaff, south of Interstate 40 along Naval Observatory Road.

Smoke will be visible to those in Flagstaff and motorists along I-40 and may impact areas of Flagstaff Ranch.

Low-interest federal disaster loans are now available to certain private nonprofit organizations in Havasupai Tribe following President Biden’s federal disaster declaration for Public Assistance as a result of flooding that occurred Aug. 22-23, announced Administrator Isabel Casillas Guzman of the U.S. Small Business Administration. Private nonprofits that provide essential services of a governmental nature are eligible for assistance.

Fire managers on the Prescott National Forest plan to conduct prescribed burning in the Prescott Basin on the Bradshaw Ranger District south of Prescott, Arizona.  Ignitions are planned to start Friday, November 1, and continue into early next week depending on weather conditions and resource availability.  

The Goldwater RX is located east of Highway 89 and Ponderosa Park Road; west of School House Gulch Road; north of Marapai Road; and west of Goldwater Lake. Resources will remain on scene to monitor and patrol in the days following the prescribed burn.