Crews make steady progress prescribed burning on Kaibab … – az.gov

Fire crews successfully completed the 509 acre Russell Rxproject and a large portion Blue Stem Rx project this past week totaling 4394 acres treated.Prescribed burning on the Kaibab National Forest will now pause as precipitation moves into thearea this weekend.

Smoke from these burns will continue to be visible from surrounding areas including Valle, StateRoute 64, Highway 180 and Grand Canyon National Park. Some residual smoke will likely settle asnocturnal winds push smoke down slope into drainages and lower terrain overnight. Smoke typicallylifts and disperses shortly after sunrise.

To date, nearly 8000 acres have been successfully treated with prescribed fire in the month of Mayon both Williams and Tusayan Ranger Districts. Spring time conditions often present advantageousopportunities that help land managers accomplish goals that include reducing wildfire risks towildlife habitat, protecting communities, and making forests more resilient.

All prescribed fires are subject to approval by an agency administrator, and by the ArizonaDepartment of Environmental Quality. The departments Air Quality Division: Smoke Managementwebpage provides details about its air quality program.The Kaibab National Forest remains committed to providing the public with ongoing updates with asmuch advance notice as possible. Sign up to receive Kaibab NF news releases in your email.

Our land management strategy is centered on long-term forest health, including reducing forest fuels and using prescribed fire on the landscape. Prescribed fires help reduce hazardous fuels that haveaccumulated due to drought, climate change, insects and disease, and decades of fire suppression.Fire also recycles nutrients back to the soil, promotes the growth of trees, wildflowers, and otherplants, and improves habitat for threatened and endangered species. These efforts align with theForest Services 10-year Wildfire Crisis Strategy which aims to increase prescribed fire and othertreatments to improve forest resiliency for generations to come.

Additional information can be found on the Kaibab NF website, Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, or bycalling the Fire Information Hotline at 928-635-8311 or contacting local ranger stations.

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Crews make steady progress prescribed burning on Kaibab ... - az.gov