Williams Ranger District

The Kaibab National Forest has implemented a temporary closure of Forest Road 149 near Kendrick Mountain on the Williams Ranger District due to safety concerns related to the active monsoon season.

Forest Road 149, which is located in the far northeastern corner of the Williams Ranger District just east of Pumpkin Center, accesses the Pumpkin Trailhead on Kendrick Mountain. Due to the risk of flooding and the associated public safety concerns, the road has been temporarily closed and will remain so until monsoon conditions subside.

Fire managers on the Williams Ranger District will take advantage of the recent widespread rain that has delivered adequate moisture to the area and will burn two small areas of slash piles on Friday of this week.

Due to increasing fire danger with warmer and dryer weather conditions in the immediate forecast, the Kaibab National Forest will issue a temporary closure for the Bill Williams Mountain watershed area beginning Fridayand continuing until the area receives significant precipitation.

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.

Fire crews will begin burning an additional 500 acres of hand piles scattered across the southern half of the Williams Ranger District beginning Monday of this week.

Inclement weather bringing moisture has presented favorable conditions to continue reducing fuel loads at various locations that include Coleman Lake, Sevier Flat, and Jackass Flat. Conditions will be evaluated daily before burns are implemented to ensure desirable effects and management objectives are being met. Fire managers will conduct operations incrementally at different locations throughout the week.

Conditions remain optimal for fire managers to continue burning slash piles on the south side of the Williams Ranger District and crews will move forward with burning an additional 94 acres on Thursday of this week near Coleman Lake adjacent to County Road 73. As moisture in the area remains, additional acres will be identified and treated.

Fire managers on the Williams Ranger District are planning to burn two small units of slash piles totaling 16 acres on Wednesday of this week. A 2 acre unit of machine piles on the southwest side of Sitgreaves Mountain and a 14 acre block of hand piles near forest road 108 south of I-40 are the specific locations scheduled for treatment.

“Conditions are ideal for cleaning up these two areas with the impending weather forecast bringing snow overnight” said Fuels Specialist Zach Boness. “We expect full consumption of the debris with no potential for fire to carry on the ground.”

The closure area surrounding the Boundary Fire on the Flagstaff Ranger District of the Coconino National Forest and the Williams Ranger District of the Kaibab National Forest has been reduced in size due to significantly decreased fire activity.