WILLIAMS – Recent snow storms have presented excellent conditions for crews to continue with fuels reduction efforts on both the Tusayan and Williams Ranger districts. Pile burns will carry on in various locations south of Williams and approximately 20 miles east of Tusayan near Russel Tank.

Operations could be extended well into next week with more snow being forecasted in the days ahead. Weather conditions are evaluated on a daily basis and burns only occur when conditions meet prescription parameters. Smoke dispersal is also a determining factor before decisions to ignite occur. Managers always strive to minimize impacts to rural developed areas.

One 46 acre unit adjacent to Buckskinner Park is scheduled for treatment and will be evaluated carefully due to its proximity to the City of Williams. This operation should be completed in one day. Smoke may be visible and light impacts may occur but are expected to be short in duration. Additional notifications will be made throughout the community prior to this area being treated.

Ignitions on approximately 96 acres of piles near Russel tank will commence the beginning of next week however no smoke impacts are anticipated due to the remote location east of Tusayan.All prescribed fires are subject to approval by the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality. For additional information on the Smoke Management Division and to view prescribed burn authorizations for any given day, visit www.azdeq.gov/programs/air-quality-programs/smoke-management

Notifications of upcoming prescribed fires are provided regularly throughout the year. This information can be found at the following sources:

· Fire Information Recorded Hotline: 928-635-8311
· Twitter: www.twitter.com/KaibabNF (Text ‘follow kaibabnf’ to 40404 to receive text messages.)
· Kaibab Facebook: www.facebook.com/KaibabNF
· Kaibab website “Recent News”: www.fs.usda.gov/kaibab
· Kaibab South Zone Rx Fire: inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5160/