The U.S. Forest Service and National Park Service will implement additional fire restrictions, also known as Stage II fire restrictions, across the North Kaibab Ranger District, and the South Rim, North Rim and Inner Canyon of Grand Canyon National Park beginning at 8 a.m. this Friday. Visitors should be mindful that these new fire restrictions will limit certain activities and will remain in effect until rescinded, which typically occurs after significant and widespread moisture arrives and fire danger levels subside.
Grand Canyon National Park
State routes 261 and 273 in the White Mountains of eastern Arizona will close for the winter on Tuesday, Jan. 2, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation. They are among a handful of routes across the state that close for the winter and reopen in the spring.
Fire managers will take advantage of continued warm, dry weather conditions over the next several weeks and may initiate additional prescribed fires on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park.
National Park Service and U.S. Forest Service fire managers, working together as the North Zone Interagency Fire Management Program, continued operations on both the North Rim Slopes and High Severity Edge prescribed fires last week. Updates on these prescribed burns are as follows:
Operations on the Wildhorse prescribed fire (Wildhorse Rx) continue to progress. Fire managers estimate that approximately 1,000 acres of hazardous fuels have been treated since the project began yesterday on the North Kaibab Ranger District of the Kaibab National Forest.
National Park Service (NPS) and U.S. Forest Service (USFS) fire managers, working together as the North Zone Interagency Fire Management Program, anticipate initiating more prescribed fire (Rx) treatments as early as Wednesday as weather and fuel moisture conditions allow on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park and the North Kaibab Ranger District of the Kaibab National Forest.
Ignitions on the Thompson prescribed fire unit within the North Kaibab Ranger District of the Kaibab National Forest and the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park have been delayed due to unfavorable atmospheric conditions which would likely result in undesirable smoke dispersion.
Crews made significant progress last night in suppressing the 151-acre Rain Fire located about 5 miles southwest of the Town of Tusayan on the Kaibab National Forest.
Incident commander Quentin Johnson said the wildfire, which is burning in pinyon-juniper woodlands, is now 40 percent contained after retardant drops yesterday and the construction of hand and dozer line late into last night.
Grand Canyon National Park fire managers—working with resources from Sedona Fire Department, Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Rocky Mountain National Park, Zion National Park, Saguaro National Park and Kaibab National Forest—completed ignition operations on the Long Jim III Prescribed Fire. Crews will now monitor the unit and mop up any areas along the fire’s perimeter that may threaten the holding line.
Grand Canyon National Park fire managers—working with resources from Sedona Fire Department, Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Rocky Mountain National Park, Zion National Park, Saguaro National Park and Kaibab National Forest—are continuing operations on the Long Jim III Prescribed Fire.
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