This week, federal forest officials in northern Arizona are preparing for another large prescribed fire in the Coconino National Forest.
The latest big burn is planned for a swath of about 2 square miles of national forest northwest of Flagstaff on Wednesday and Thursday.
This burn will take place in an area that hasn’t experienced fire in a long time, so conditions are expected to be laden with smoke. But Forest Service officials also expect northwest-bound winds to push smoke away from Flagstaff.
The prescribed burn is the latest in a spring and summer of rapid treatments meant to address last year’s devastating wildfires in the region.
A watershed restoration project on Flagstaff’s west side is expected to continue this summer to slow down and spread out flood waters before they reach the city.