Fire managers on the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests plan to conduct a series of prescribed burns over the fall and winter.
Officials say they’re waiting for the appropriate fuel moisture, temperature, wind and humidity to begin nearly 20 projects making up thousands of acres on the Alpine, Black Mesa, Clifton, Springerville and Lakeside ranger districts.
Meanwhile, officials on the Kaibab National Forest plan several ignitions during the first week of October that could total more than 25,000 acres near Williams, 13,000 acres near Tusayan and more than 16,000 acres on the North Kaibab Ranger District.
Neither forest provided details on the exact timing of the burns but say managers will incorporate the guidance of the Forest Service Chief’s National Prescribed Fire Program Review.
It was put in place last year following a 90-day agency-wide pause in prescribed burns after a Forest Service fire treatment sparked the 340,000-acre Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak Fire in New Mexico, the largest wildfire in state history.