Tag: Kaibab National Forest

Coconino County expanding Stage 1 fire restrictions

by Community Contributor • June 18, 2026 • Comments Off

COCONINO COUNTY — Coconino County will expand fire restrictions in coordination with the Kaibab National Forest. Stage 1 restrictions will take effect on Thursday, June 11, at 8 a.m. for all unincorporated areas within the boundaries of the Kaibab National Forest. All other areas of the County will remain in Stage 1 fire restrictions.

During Stage 1 restrictions igniting, building, maintaining or using a fire fueled by combustible materials such as wood, charcoal, briquettes and/or coal is strictly prohibited, except within a developed site. Smoking is also prohibited, except within an enclosed vehicle or a developed site. The use of tracer or incendiary rounds of ammunition or explosive targets is also strictly prohibited.

Kaibab National Forest plans prescribed fire this spring on North Kaibab Ranger District

by Community Contributor • March 13, 2026 • Comments Off

FREDONIA — The Kaibab National Forest is planning prescribed fire operations on the North Kaibab Ranger District as early as March 17, 2026, pending all required approvals. The four possible units, totaling 6,136-acres, are in the Jacob Lake vicinity and north of U.S. Route 89A, east of Forest Road 248 and west of Forest Road 487. Fire managers will look for opportunities to implement this burn from March 17 to May 15, as weather conditions allow. A broadcast burn is when fire is applied across a defined area or boundary to reduce overgrown vegetation to help protect local communities, infrastructure and natural resources from wildfires. This is a maintenance burn, which refers to a low to moderate intensity prescribed fire conducted to keep surface fuels reduced and continue to build a fire resilient ecosystem.

Kaibab National Forest announces seasonal hiring for upcoming recreation season

by Community Contributor • February 13, 2026 • Comments Off

WILLIAMS — The Kaibab National Forest will be hiring seasonal employees for the upcoming recreation season and is encouraging local residents to apply.

“Our seasonal employees are the backbone of summer operations—keeping our campgrounds, trails and recreation sites open, safe and welcoming for visitors,” said Kaibab National Forest Supervisor Nicole Branton. “These positions offer meaningful work, hands-on experience and the chance to support public lands close to home.

Kaibab NF firewood permits available January 5th for Williams and Tusayan and May 1st for North Kaibab Ranger District

by Community Contributor • December 15, 2025 • Comments Off

WILLIAMS — The Kaibab National Forest will soon be offering fuelwood permits for the 2026 season. On the Williams and Tusayan Ranger Districts, the Forest Service will begin issuing permits January 5, 2026

On the North Kaibab Ranger District only, permit sales and firewood collection will run from May 1 through December 31, 2026.

Kaibab National Forest prepares for pile burns on Williams and Tusayan ranger districts

by Community Contributor • November 19, 2025 • Comments Off

WILLIAMS — The Kaibab National Forest is planning prescribed fire pile burns on up to approximately 9,000 acres on the Williams and Tusayan ranger districts, pending all required approvals. We estimate this work to continue through the winter as weather conditions allow.

Pile burning is meant to treat slash, like branches, piled by thinning crews in hand piles and after the completion of timber projects, with the aim of reducing flammable fuels. The decision to proceed with each pile burn will depend on multiple factors, including snowpack, air quality, ventilation, forecast weather and wind, and resource availability. We use prescribed fire to help reduce overgrown vegetation to help protect local communities, infrastructure and natural resources from wildfires.

Kaibab National Forest prepares for prescribed burning north of Williams

by Community Contributor • November 10, 2025 • Comments Off

WILLIAMS — The Kaibab National Forest is planning prescribed fire operations north of the City of Williams starting Wednesday, November 12, pending favorable conditions and all required approvals. We anticipate ignitions to take one to two days. We use prescribed fires to help reduce overgrown vegetation to help protect local communities, infrastructure and natural resources from wildfires.

Kaibab National Forest prepares for prescribed fires near Tusayan and Williams

by Community Contributor • October 31, 2025 • Comments Off

WILLIAMS — The Kaibab National Forest is planning prescribed fire operations on the Tusayan Ranger District beginning Friday, October 24, pending all required approvals. We estimate this work to continue through the weekend and may begin operations on the Williams Ranger District next week as weather conditions allow. We use prescribed fires to help reduce overgrown vegetation to help protect local communities, infrastructure and natural resources from wildfires.

Prescribed fires planned for the area include:

Kaibab National Forest prepares for prescribed fires near Tusayan and Williams

by Community Contributor • October 22, 2025 • Comments Off

Prescribed fires planned for the area include:

Kaibab National Forest prepares for prescribed fires

by Community Contributor • September 24, 2025 • Comments Off

WILLIAMS — The Kaibab National Forest is planning prescribed fire operations this October, pending all required approvals. We estimate this work to continue through the fall season as weather conditions allow. We use prescribed fires to help reduce overgrown vegetation to help protect local communities, infrastructure and natural resources from wildfires.

Prescribed fires planned for the area include:

Blue Stem Project-Tusayan RD- 7,030 acres of broadcast burning.
Kendrick Project- Williams RD- 6,653 acres of broadcast burning.
Marteen Project- Williams RD- 504 acres of broadcast burning.
Pine Flat Project- Williams RD- 4,302 acres of broadcast burning.
Moonset Pit-Williams RD- 1 acre- Parks area natural debris pit pile burn.

Kaibab National Forest to lift fire restrictions Sept. 4

by Community Contributor • September 3, 2025 • Comments Off

WILLIAMS — Due to an increase in rainfall over the last several days, the Kaibab National Forest will lift all fire restrictions at 8:00 a.m. Thursday, September 4, 2025.
Fire managers continually evaluate conditions across the forest to help determine when to implement and rescind fire restrictions. The forest has received enough widespread rain to increase fuel moisture and decrease the risk of severe fire.
To help prevent human-caused fires, forest visitors should always be vigilant while visiting the forest, regardless of restriction levels.

Forest Service Burned Area Emergency Response team assessing fire severity from the Dragon Bravo Fire on the Kaibab National Forest

by Community Contributor • August 22, 2025 • Comments Off

FREDONIA — A U S Forest Service Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) team, led by Eric Schroder, has begun making burned area surveys of the Kaibab National Forest. BAER team assessments are rapid evaluations of post-fire conditions of the burned landscape to determine the level of risk from potential flooding and debris flow to values on National Forest System lands. If unacceptable risks are found the team recommends appropriate and effective emergency stabilization measures to reduce the risks to national forest lands and values. BAER emergency stabilization efforts are focused on the protection of human life and safety, property, and critical cultural and natural resources.

Kaibab National Forest to enter Stage 2 Fire Restrictions, reduce North Kaibab closure area

by Community Contributor • August 20, 2025 • Comments Off

FREDONIA — The Kaibab National Forest is reducing the temporary forest closure on the North Kaibab Ranger Districts. Beginning Tuesday, August 19, western portions of the district will reopen to public access. Fire behavior on Dragon Bravo has decreased, containment has increased, and fire crews have shifted focus to suppression repair, allowing large areas of the National Forest to be reopened without compromising fire operations or public safety.

Kaibab NF to enter Stage 2 Fire Restrictions, reduce North Kaibab closure area

by Community Contributor • August 6, 2025 • Comments Off

FREDONIA — On Friday, August 8, the Forest Service will reopen a portion of the North Kaibab Ranger District, which has been closed in its entirety due to the White Sage and Dragon Bravo fires. In addition, Stage 2 Fire Restrictions will go into effect for the North Kaibab and Tusayan ranger districts.

Kaibab National Forest — White Sage Fire Daily Update – July 16, 2025

by Community Contributor • July 16, 2025 • Comments Off

The White Sage Fire reached 4% containment as of yesterday. On the fire’s west side, crews constructed dozer line near the community of White Sage, along the northern edge of the fire’s heel. Today, firefighters will continue mop-up operations, extinguishing any remaining burning or smoldering material, felling hazardous snags, and trenching logs to prevent rolling and potential reignition.

Fire activity increased yesterday on the north side of the fire near Winter Road. Multiple aircraft conducted retardant drops to help slow the fire’s spread. Water tenders are shuttling water to fill portable tanks, each holding up to 2,000 gallons, for helicopters engaged in aerial suppression.

Kaibab National Forest — White Sage Fire Daily Update – July 15, 2025

by Community Contributor • July 15, 2025 • Comments Off

Over the past few days, the White Sage Fire has exhibited extreme fire behavior, with fire runs reaching 5–7 miles per day. However, yesterday’s fire growth was significantly less, with an increase of approximately 2,636 acres, thanks to the hard work of firefighters and more favorable conditions. The fire perimeter is approximately 158 miles around. Yesterday, the fire continued to spread actively, particularly through areas impacted by the 2020 Mangum Fire, where invasive cheatgrass is fueling rapid movement. The west side of the fire is holding well near White Sage and is now transitioning into suppression repair work to mitigate impacts from firefighting efforts.

Crews to begin winter pile burning on the Kaibab National Forest

by Community Contributor • January 27, 2025 • Comments Off

WILLIAMS — Fire managers on the Kaibab National Forest will be conducting prescribed pile burns throughout the 2025 winter season as conditions safely allow. Winter is often the ideal time for crews to burn piles of slash and woody debris left over from forest thinning projects because colder temperatures and snow help moderate fire behavior and keep it from spreading beyond the piles. Approximately 2,190 acres of piles on the Tusayan Ranger District, 5,500 acres on the Williams Ranger District, with additional acres of piles on the North Kaibab Ranger District are slated for burning this season.

Three Sisters and Pine Flat Rx Fire Projects Scheduled For Final Treatments This Week

by Community Contributor • October 23, 2024 • Comments Off

WILLIAMS — Fire Managers are preparing to wrap up the 2024 fall prescribed burning season on the south zone of the Kaibab National Forest this week beginning with the 3055 acre Pine Flat Prescribed Fire Project located approximately 15 miles south of Williams, followed by the 1467 acre Fireball Unit on the Three Sisters Prescribed Fire Project located 5 miles northwest of Williams on the south side of FR 124.

Public surveys begin on the Kaibab National Forest

by Community Contributor • October 3, 2024 • Comments Off

The National Visitor Use Monitoring (NVUM) survey is conducted every five years and provides an estimate of how many people recreate on the forest, what activities they engage in while there, and how satisfied people were with their visit. Economic impact to the local economy is also captured in the survey. This information is useful for forest planning as well as local community tourism planning.

Kaibab National Forest considers new fiber optic line to support rural northern Arizona

by Community Contributor • July 31, 2024 • Comments Off

FREDONIA — The Kaibab National Forest (KNF) is considering authorization of a new fiber optic line between Fredonia and Jacob Lake, Arizona. The need for high-speed internet connections grows as new technologies require faster and higher-grade services. As such, the USDA Rural Utility Services Reconnect program helps rural utilities expand and keep their technology up to date by increasing bandwidth and communications capabilities. South Central Utah Telephone Association Inc. (a.k.a. SCUTA) is making high-speed internet affordable by participating in the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Affordable Connectivity Program and is proposing to install buried fiber optic line in rural northern Coconino County.

Moonset Pit green waste disposal to begin May 4

by Community Contributor • April 8, 2024 • Comments Off

WILLIAMS — The Kaibab National Forest, in cooperation with the communities of Parks and Sherwood Forest Estates will be re-opening Moonset Pit on May 4, 2024 for residents to dispose of green waste materials from private property.

The pit will be open every other Saturday from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. until September 7, 2024. Moonset Pit is located just west of the Parks community, east of Spitz Springs on the north side of old Route 66.

Crews begin winter pile burning on the Kaibab NF

by Community Contributor • January 4, 2024 • Comments Off

WILLIAMS — Fire managers will be conducting prescribed pile burns throughout the winter season as conditions safely allow. Winter is often the ideal time for crews to burn piles of slash and woody debris left over from forest thinning projects because colder temperatures and snow help moderate fire behavior and keep it from spreading beyond the piles. Approximately 5,000 acres of piles on the Tusayan and Williams ranger districts and 2,500 acres of piles on the North Kaibab Ranger District are slated for burning this season.

Areas of Coconino and Kaibab national forests to close this weekend

by Community Contributor • June 16, 2022 • Comments Off

oconino and Kaibab national forests will temporarily close certain areas to public access beginning Friday and Saturday due to fire danger and for public safety, while all other parts of the national forests outside of the closure areas remain in Stage 2 fire restrictions.

On the Kaibab National Forest, the area of Bill Williams Mountain will be closed beginning Friday, June 17 at 8 a.m. Specifically, public access will be prohibited on all National Forest System lands, roads, and trails within the closure area, generally located between County Road (CR) 73, Old Route 66 in the City of Williams, Forest Road (FR) 122, FR 108, and I-40. This includes Benham Trail, Bixler Saddle Trail, Bill Williams Mountain Trail, Bill Williams Connector Trail, Buckskinner Trail, City of Williams Link Trail, Devil Dog Loop Trail, and Clover Spring Loop Trail. Forest Road 122 will also be closed. FR 108 will remain drivable; however, motorists cannot park off the road.