northern Arizona

Coconino County Health and Human Services (CCHHS) recommends taking precautions to protect yourself and your family from illnesses transmitted by insects and animals.

Summer in Northern Arizona can bring people in contact with mosquitoes, ticks, fleas, bats, skunks, squirrels, and mice. While these insects and animals are important to the Northern Arizona ecosystem, they can occasionally carry disease.

On November 19, Northern Arizona First Responder Agencies held their annual Winter Preparedness meeting at the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office. Agencies in attendance included Coconino County Sheriff’s Office, Department of Public Safety, Flagstaff Police Department, Arizona Game and Fish, Highlands Fire Department, United States Forest Service, and representatives from Arizona Snowbowl and the Nordic Village.

With heavy rain and snow forecast across Arizona from Wednesday night through Thursday, drivers should slow down for safety and consider putting off travel as conditions can change quickly, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation.

Due to increasing fire danger and for public safety, the entire Coconino and Prescott National Forests, as well as the South Kaibab portion of the Kaibab National Forest, will implement Stage II Fire Restrictions effective this Friday (May 4) at 8 a.m. The North Kaibab portion of the Kaibab National Forest will remain unaffected for now.

On Thursday, March 15, 2018 at approximately 5:45 PM, the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office received three calls for service for Search and Rescue events: one involving an overdue hiker in Sedona, another involving an injured hiker with a broken ankle also in Sedona, and the third was for stranded motorists on Forest Service Road #535 south of Flagstaff.

Due to significant widespread rain and decreasing fire danger, the entire Coconino and Kaibab National Forests in northern Arizona will begin lifting all campfire and smoking restrictions. The Kaibab National Forest will rescind restrictions today at 12 p.m. (Monday, July 17) and the Coconino National Forest will follow tomorrow morning (Tuesday July 18) at 8 a.m.

Coconino National Forest firefighters responded to a human-caused wildfire northeast of Fort Valley near Freidlein Prairie this morning at approximately 7 a.m.

The response included several engines, patrols, a hotshot crew and a tender water truck being dispatched to a fire burning in about a half-acre of forest land. Firefighters stopped all forward progression of the fire and are mopping up the edges of the fire currently.

When the snow flies in Northern Arizona, people from all over the state come and play in the Flagstaff area.

Three-day weekends, such as the one upcoming, are weekends when masses of people converge upon northern Arizona and Coconino National Forest to play in the snow. Drivers, visitors and residents will need to have extra patience and be courteous to each other.

Recent snows have brought many visitors to snow play areas along state Route 180, north of Flagstaff, which has caused dangerous conditions as people are parking illegally on the side of SR 180.

Snow in Arizona’s high country is a magnet for desert dwellers looking to ski, sled, make snowmen and have snowball fights.

Too often, however, a vehicle full of people heading to play in the snow winds up parked on the shoulder of a state highway or even Interstate 17 rather than pulled safely into a designated parking area well off the road. This creates a hazard for more than just the occupants.