wildfire

 The Tonto National Forest Payson Ranger District will resume prescribed fire treatments in targeted areas around the town of Payson due to predicted favorable weather conditions starting Monday, Oct. 18, through Friday, Oct. 22, 2021. 

As part of a $100 million investment into the state of Arizona, the Department of Forestry and Fire Management develops the Post-Wildfire Infrastructure Assistance Program to help public and private landowners with repair costs associated with damaged infrastructure from wildfires across the state.

While many wildfires cause minimal damage to the land and pose few threats to the land or people downstream, some fires result in damage that requires special efforts to reduce impacts afterwards. Loss of vegetation exposes soil to erosion; water run-off may increase and cause flooding, soil and rock may move downstream.  

Flagstaff Mayor Paul Deasy and Coconino County Chair of the Board of Supervisors Matt Ryan have declared States of Emergency on behalf of the city of Flagstaff and Coconino County due to the impacts of monsoonal flooding to the Museum Flood Area and other parts of Flagstaff, which started July 13, 2021.

Declaring a State of Emergency allows the city and county to expend emergency funds from all available sources and request assistance from the State of Arizona. 

Management of the Tiger Fire has transitioned to a Type 4 Team.  Early morning rain yesterday arrived over the Tiger Fire footprint bringing wetting rains over the perimeter until mid-morning. Amounts of rain recorded in the fire area varied from between .01 to .6 inches. These amounts further suppressed fire activity on the fire and will allow the fire scar to begin new growth. Future rain events do have the possibility of flooding if ger amounts of rainfall occur.

Highlights: The Southwest Area Type 2 Incident Management Team 4 will transfer command of the Middle Fire back to the Tonto National Forest at 6 a.m. on Friday, July 16, 2021. This is the final update from the Type 2 Incident Management Team. The Team extends its sincere thanks to the local communities for their support and hospitality throughout this incident.

At 8:22 pm on July 12, 2021, the Color Country Interagency Communication Center received a report of a wildland fire start. Local resources are on scene and aerial resources have been requested. Smoke can be seen from St. George, Utah. 

Highlights: Cooperation between firefighters and local resource advisors is helping the incident management team meet resource objectives and agency expectations. During each shift, land management professionals from the Tonto National Forest are providing fire managers with insights on how to meet objectives effectively while serving the public and protecting values at risk. Under the guidance of the local agency, one of the objectives developed for the Middle Fire is to minimize impacts to heritage, natural, recreation, watershed and wildlife values.

Firefighters have mapped the Buzzard Fire and reduced its size to 48 acres.  With a secured perimeter the fire is now 100% contained; firefighters will continue to patrol and monitor.  All roads in the fire area are open. 

For information on the Prescott National Forest, check out the Prescott NF website and following us on Facebook and Twitter.   

At 8:22 pm on July 12, 2021, the Color Country Interagency Communication Center received a report of a wildland fire start. Local resources are on scene and aerial resources have been requested. Smoke can be seen from St. George, Utah.