A month-long prescribed fire burn project in Coconino County will kick off Wednesday.
The Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management is leading the project and plans to treat more than 12,000 acres of state and private land.
The project will consist of three prescribed fires, the largest of which will be a 10,000-acre burn that stretches north of U.S. 180, east of Valle and south of the Kaibab National Forest.
This will be the longest of the burns, with fire managers expecting it to take a minimum of seven days due to its size.
Implementation dates of the project's three phases will depend on weather conditions to ensure firefighter and public safety.
The project is part of a collaboration with the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality to reduce the risk of wildfires.
These three projects will focus on a reduction of sagebrush and dead vegetation, and buffalo habitat improvement.
-
The threat of the Papa Fire spreading to communities or structures in and around Flagstaff is low, officials said. Crews are maintaining a strong fire line and working to protect nearby energy infrastructure.
-
State and federal agencies across Arizona have put fire restrictions in place, as the danger of wildfires increases with hot and dry conditions.
-
Wildfire risk is rising across the West after a dry winter and ongoing drought left vegetation more vulnerable to fire. Now, researchers at the University of Nevada, Reno are putting about $3.5 million in federal funding to work on a project aimed at reducing that risk in the eastern Sierra Nevada.
-
Storms across the Western U.S. are dumping more rain in shorter bursts than in decades past. But according to new research, that doesn't necessarily mean landscapes are holding onto more water.
-
The study says that increased the risk of catastrophic wildfires across the country.