Kaibab National Forest managers want to reduce the threat of dead and damaged trees from last year’s Dragon Bravo and White Sage fires.
Officials say the trees pose a risk of falling and injuring firefighters and workers along with members of the public and infrastructure. They’re asking the public to provide feedback on the Kaibab Plateau Public and Firefighter Safety Project.
Managers propose clearing 4,359 acres of hazard trees along roads, trails, fencelines and developed water features.
Officials say the work would also enhance safe access and evacuation routes by creating “shaded fuel breaks” on 5,067 acres along key roads where lower fuel loads would moderate fire behavior and serve as future wildfire containment lines. According to the forest, the project will complement other projects like the more than 500,000-acre Kaibab Plateau Ecological Restoration Project.
It’s part of a broader recovery effort on the Kaibab Plateau following the two wildfires that burned 204,000 acres last summer on the Kaibab National Forest and in Grand Canyon National Park.
Forest officials will begin a 14-day public scoping and comment period on Saturday, June 6. More information is available on the project’s website.
Comments can be submitted via email to comments-southwestern-kaibab-north-kaibab@usda.gov; by mail to P.O. Box 248, Fredonia, AZ 86022; or hand delivery to 430 S. Main St., Fredonia, AZ 86022, Monday – Friday, from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
