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Dude Fire Restoration Project aims to restore thousands of trees by 2026

Firefighters congregate in burned area on the Dude Fire
U.S. Forest Service
Firefighters congregate in burned area on the Dude Fire in 1990.

Crews recently began the second leg of the Dude Fire Restoration Project on the Tonto National Forest.

The forest, state partners and organizations like the Salt River Project are collaborating to restore more than 1,100 acres of woodland and ponderosa pines. This phase of the project focuses on reducing potential fuel for wildfires by thinning out dense areas of trees and brush.

Crews are aiming to wrap up by December and treat a total of 7,600 acres over the next two years.

Kirsten Dorman is a field correspondent at KJZZ. Born and raised in New Jersey, Dorman fell in love with audio storytelling as a freshman at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication in 2019.
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