Coconino County officials have approved $12 million in funding to finish a series of flood control measures put in place after a devastating fire nearly three years ago east of Flagstaff.
The Pipeline Fire burned more than 26 square miles of mountain slopes and forest in the San Francisco Peaks in the spring of 2022. Severe flooding in neighborhoods east of Flagstaff followed as water rushed unchecked off slopes newly stripped of vegetation.
Since then, officials have shored up berms, drainpipes and slope restoration to slow the water coming down off the mountains in the rainy season. This last set of funding will pay for construction of the final berms to be put in place to move rushing water away from neighborhoods and from Highway 89.
More than $130 million in federal and state grants have gone into the nine flood control projects.
-
The National Park Service announced the Grand Canyon is ready to reopen at least part of the trail there that is frequented by hikers — many of whom are after their elusive “rim to rim” goals. -
Wildfire has numerous consequences for the West and, with many statehouses now in session, lawmakers across the region are trying to respond. Now there's a new tool to track reform efforts. -
Portions of the North Kaibab Trail is set to reopen in early March. The trail remained closed after the Dragon Bravo Fire destroyed parts of the North Rim. -
Wildfires are starting to burn more frequently in areas that also get snow. And that’s causing snowpacks to melt earlier than they typically do, especially in the years right after the fire. -
The Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management is collaborating with the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality to carry out a month-long pile burn that is expected to span across 12,000 acres.
