The Coconino National Forest plans to conduct several prescribed fires over the coming weeks while weather conditions are favorable.
The Horseshoe Burn Project is set to begin Wednesday, April 26, 2023, and will cover more than a thousand acres north of the San Francisco Peaks. Smoke impacts will be felt southwest of the burn site before winds shift to the northeast Wednesday evening. National forest officials say there are no anticipated road or trail closures.
Officials with the Kaibab National Forest are also planning prescribed burns on the Williams and Tusayan Ranger Districts. Ignitions are set to begin May 1, 2023, on more than 1,300 acres northwest of Spring Valley and northeast of Red Butte near Russell Tank.
Fire managers say smoke is likely to settle into drainages and low-lying areas around Tusayan. A nearby portion of the Arizona Trail will remain open during burn operations.
Prescribed burns are designed to help reduce forest fuels that have accumulated due to drought, climate change, insects, disease and years of fire suppression. Fire recycles nutrients back into the soil and promotes plant and tree growth.
The Forest Service’s 10-year Wildfire Crisis Strategy aims to increase prescribed burning and other treatments across the region to improve forest resiliency.