wildfire

Residents of Flagstaff and other northern Arizona communities have no doubt noticed all the smoke in the air in recent weeks. It’s come from a combination of several prescribed burns and lightning-caused wildfires that forest officials have opted to manage for ecological benefit following a very snowy winter and amid an unusually wet spring.

Fire managers are set to begin a large prescribed burn about 10 miles southwest of Flagstaff Wednesday.

Fire crews are working to contain an approximately 100-acre brush fire in the Verde Valley near Tuzigoot National Monument.

A new study shows conifer forests in the West are struggling to regrow after wildfires. KNAU’s Melissa Sevigny reports, the researchers say forest management practices can help.

The San Carlos Apache Tribe will receive $32 million from the federal government to thin forests and reduce wildfire risks on tribal lands in the eastern part of Arizona.

The Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management has awarded 15 grants to local fire departments and districts to assist with wildland firefighting.

A White House wildfire panel has offered several recommendations for how to improve aerial firefighting over the next several years.

In the wake of two devastating wildfires on the San Francisco Peaks in 2022, forest managers are proposing a host of new restrictions designed to reduce human-caused ignitions. They would ban camping and fires in more areas near Flagstaff and prohibit vehicle access on parts of the Coconino National Forest surrounding the peaks under heightened fire restrictions.

The federal government will allocate nearly $500 million to hazardous fuels reduction in areas with high risk of wildfire in several western states.

The Coconino National Forest will reopen the Fossil Creek recreation area Thursday after it was closed in July 2021 because of the Backbone Fire.