Prescribed Fire

Coconino National Forest firefighters plan to conduct prescribed burns next week in areas that will lessen smoke impacts to surrounding communities.
 
These burns are among the prescribed burn projects planned for the Flagstaff Ranger District and the Mogollon Rim Ranger District this fall and are part of a strategy to allow fire across the landscape in order to restore forests to healthier conditions, protect watersheds and improve the safety of the communities around them.

Ignitions are complete on the Moquitch-3 (Phase 2) prescribed fire project at the North Kaibab Ranger District on the Kaibab National Forest. Fire managers have reported a total of 1,436 acres treated over the past two days.

Tomorrow crews will conduct “hold & patrol" operations, which basically translates to monitoring fire behavior, monitoring smoke, and ensuring the fire stays within the designated containment lines. There are no active firing operations planned for tomorrow due to forecasted high wind activity.

Additional details are as follows:

Grand Canyon National Park fire managers will initiate a prescribed fire treatment today, as weather and fuel moisture conditions allow. The Long Jim Prescribed Fire is adjacent to the developed area on the South Rim, east of South Entrance Road and south of Highway 64 (Desert View Drive) East. 

Kaibab National Forest fire officials are alerting the public that recent prescribed fire activities may be visible at several locations across the Williams and Tusayan Ranger Districts over the next several days and could possibly linger into the approaching Christmas holiday.

Fire managers at Saguaro National Park plan to conduct a prescribed burn on Mica Mountain in the Saguaro Wilderness of the Rincon Mountain District (Saguaro East) this fall when conditions are favorable. The prescribed burn is currently planned for mid-late October.

A final decision increasing prescribed fire and thinning in the Blue Ridge area was signed July 27 adding protection to the watersheds feeding C.C. Cragin Reservoir which are engulfed by overgrown forest.

Fire managers on the south zone of the Kaibab National Forest will resume implementation on the Sunflower prescribed fire project beginning Saturday of this week. With red flag conditions subsiding and a measure of moisture in the immediate forecast, favorable weather conditions have presented an opportunity to continue with treatments in this specific area.

As part of the Tonto National Forest’s ongoing strategy to restore the health of the landscape and reduce catastrophic wildfire danger in Rim County, fire specialists will conduct prescribed fire treatments on 758 acres south of Payson, starting on Monday, January 29, and continuing through Friday, February 2, 2018.  The treatment areas are located south of the Payson Golf Course, north of Oxbow Estates, southwest of Granite Dells, south of Round Valley, and north of Jim Jones Shooting Range.

Fire Managers on the south zone of the Kaibab National Forest will continue with pile burning on the Tusayan Ranger District this week and are expecting to complete an additional 429 acres west of the Grand Canyon Airport by Friday.

Typically, pile burning produces far less smoke than broadcast burning with less impacts to adjacent communities.  Piles consume quickly and have little to no spread potential with recent snow accumulation on the ground. Burn days are always chosen based on current weather conditions that are optimal for ventilation and dispersion of residual smoke.