Daily Archives: July 9, 2018

Fire restrictions to be lifted Wednesday on Williams and Tusayan Ranger Districts

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WILLIAMS – Due to significant and widespread precipitation south of the Grand Canyon, the Kaibab National Forest will lift all fire restrictions across the Williams and Tusayan Ranger Districts at 8 a.m. Wednesday as well as the area closure of the Bill Williams Mountain watershed. Due to different weather conditions, however, Stage II fire restrictions will remain in effect for the entire North Kaibab Ranger District, which is located north of the Grand Canyon.

As of Wednesday morning, there will be no fire restrictions in effect on the Williams and Tusayan Ranger Districts. The districts have received a substantial amount of rain over the last few days with more in the forecast. The area closure of the Bill Williams Mountain watershed will also be lifted, and visitors can once again camp, hike and drive in the popular recreation area.

“I want to express my appreciation to our local communities and visitors for their outstanding compliance with fire restrictions this year,” said Art Gonzales, fire staff officer for the Kaibab National Forest. “We had an incredibly low number of human-caused wildfire starts on the forest despite being in extreme fire danger and having one of the driest periods on record in many years. When members of the public abide by fire restrictions and closures, they greatly help us in protecting their public lands and adjacent communities from the threats posed by human-caused wildfires.”

The North Kaibab Ranger District has not yet received the amount of precipitation seen on the southern two districts of the Kaibab National Forest and will therefore remain in Stage II fire restrictions until rainfall amounts increase.

Under the Stage II fire restrictions that will remain in effect on the North Kaibab Ranger District, the following are prohibited:

Building, maintaining, attending or using a fire, campfire, charcoal, coal, or wood stove fire, including fires in developed campgrounds and improved sites.
Smoking, except within an enclosed vehicle or building.
Discharging a firearm except while engaged in a lawful hunt pursuant to state, federal, or tribal laws and regulations.
Operating chainsaws or any internal combustion engine between the hours of 9 a.m. and 8 p.m.
Welding or operating acetylene or other torches with an open flame.
Using an explosive. (It is always illegal to use any kind of explosives on National Forest lands.)

Exemptions to the Stage II fire restrictions that will remain in effect on the North Kaibab Ranger District include the following:

Using a device fueled solely by liquid petroleum or LPG fuels that can be turned on and off. Such devices can only be used in an area that is barren or cleared of all overhead and surrounding flammable materials within 3 feet of the device.
Operating generators with an approved spark arresting device within an enclosed vehicle or building or in an area that is barren or cleared of all overhead and surrounding flammable materials within 3 feet of the generator.
Operating motorized vehicles in compliance with applicable laws and regulations. Parking off any road must be in an area that is barren or cleared of all overhead and surrounding flammable materials within 3 feet of the vehicle.

Due to the lack of precipitation over last winter and the rapidly increasing fire danger, forest officials first implemented campfire and smoking restrictions, also known as Stage I fire restrictions, across the entire Williams and Tusayan Ranger Districts on April 27. Those were quickly increased to Stage II fire restrictions on May 4, with the closure of the Bill Williams Mountain watershed implemented on May 11. The Williams and Tusayan Ranger Districts have remained in Stage II fire restrictions with the Bill Williams Mountain area closure since that time.

The North Kaibab Ranger District first entered Stage I fire restrictions on May 18 and then increased to Stage II on June 8. Because of its location north of the Grand Canyon, the North Kaibab Ranger District frequently enters fire restrictions and then remains in them later than the rest of the Kaibab National Forest, as is the case this year.

Fire restrictions and area closures are implemented when necessary in order to protect human life, property and natural resources. The Forest Service uses fire restrictions and area closures in order to prevent unwanted, human-caused fires and to limit the exposure of visitors during periods of potentially dangerous fire conditions.

For more information about the Kaibab National Forest and any fire restrictions in effect, reference the following sources:

Website: www.fs.usda.gov/kaibab
Twitter: www.twitter.com/KaibabNF
Facebook: www.facebook.com/KaibabNF
Arizona Fire Restrictions: firerestrictions.us/az

Meeting to be held Thursday, July 12, in Sedona on SR 89A improvements

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PHOENIX – The Arizona Department of Transportation will hold an informational meeting on Thursday, July 12, in Sedona about plans for safety, roadway and bridge improvements along 12 miles of State Route 89A between Sedona and Flagstaff.

The meeting will be from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, July 12, at the Sedona Public Library, 3250 White Bear Road. A formal presentation is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.

The four projects planned for this stretch of SR 89A beginning in 2019 will require traffic restrictions and are being coordinated to minimize impacts on those who live, work and recreate in the area. The work involves:

Rehabilitating the Pumphouse Wash bridge.
Rehabilitating pavement from the Sedona city limits north to Bear Howard Drive.
Reducing the potential for rock fall between mileposts 375 and 389.
Installing erosion control infrastructure.

More information on the projects is available at azdot.gov/SR89AImprovements.

Project team members will be at the meeting to explain the improvements and share information about proposed construction schedules and traffic plans. The public can ask questions, provide comments and speak directly with project team members.

Those unable to attend the meeting can ask questions and submit comments in these ways:

Toll-free ADOT bilingual project information line: 855.712.8530.
Email: SR89A@hdrinc.com.
Mail: SR 89A Projects c/o HDR, 101 N. First Ave., Ste. 1950, Phoenix, AZ 85003.

The deadline for comments is July 28.

I-17 system detects first wrong-way vehicle in travel lanes

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PHOENIX ‒ The wrong-way detection and warning system being tested along 15 miles of Interstate 17 in Phoenix alerted officials early Thursday to a vehicle traveling southbound in the wrong direction between Loop 101 and Bell Road, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation and Arizona Department of Public Safety.

No crash resulted from the incident, which involved the first vehicle detected on I-17 travel lanes in Phoenix since the wrong-way system went into operation in January.

At 1:11 a.m., the system sounded an alert that a wrong-way vehicle was traveling southbound in the northbound lanes of I-17 at Union Hills Road. The vehicle exited shortly after, turned around and reentered I-17 going the right way in the northbound lanes. While traffic operators and DPS continued tracking the vehicle, state troopers alerted through the system stopped the driver and took him into custody on suspicion of DUI.

The $4 million system includes 90 thermal detection cameras positioned above exit ramps and the mainline of the freeway between the I-10 “Stack” interchange near downtown to the Loop 101 interchange in north Phoenix. It’s designed to provide immediate alerts to ADOT and DPS so traffic operators can quickly warn other drivers via overhead message boards and state troopers can respond faster than relying on 911 calls from other drivers.

A detection by this first-in the-nation system sets off a loud horn in ADOT’s Traffic Operations Center as a window appears on operators’ workstations showing video from the thermal camera and providing other data. Using a computerized decision support system, operators can immediately activate digital message boards in the area alerting drivers and instructing them to exit the freeway.

If the detection is at an off-ramp, an internally illuminated wrong-way sign with red flashing LEDs will activate. It’s positioned along the ramp to attract the attention of wrong-way drivers, most of whom are impaired, often severely.

As it studies results from the wrong-way system along with partner agencies, ADOT is planning to install it along Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway that’s scheduled to open in late 2019 and is looking at adding it to other freeways.

In addition to Thursday’s detection, the system has detected more than 20 vehicles entering I-17 off-ramps and frontage roads in the wrong direction. None of these other vehicles is believed to have entered I-17 travel lanes, with the majority of drivers turning around on exit ramps.

Technology like the I-17 thermal camera system cannot prevent all wrong-way crashes from happening. The primary goal is reducing the risk of serious crashes by alerting DPS and ADOT to wrong-way vehicles much faster than waiting for 911 calls from other motorists. Faster detection is a key to giving law enforcement officers an improved chance of responding to a wrong-way vehicle.

ADOT officers using K-9 units to combat illegal drugs, human smuggling

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PHOENIX – To help reduce smuggling of drugs and people and in alignment with Governor Doug Ducey’s commitment to public safety, Arizona Department of Transportation officers at commercial ports of entry in eastern and western Arizona are using the agency’s first K-9 units.

Between December and May, the two K-9 units, based at the Interstate 10 Ehrenberg Port of Entry near California and the Interstate 40 Sanders Port of Entry near New Mexico, have helped officers seize in excess of 350 pounds of marijuana, 600 vials of hash oil and $90,000 in illicit bulk currency. They have inspected hundreds of vehicles and aided other law enforcement agencies on dozens of occasions.

“Protecting public safety is the No. 1 responsibility of state government,” Governor Ducey said. “We’re committed to making sure law enforcement agencies, including the highly trained officers keeping watch at our commercial ports of entry, have the resources they need to combat drug trafficking and human smuggling.”

The units are part of ADOT’s Enforcement and Compliance Division, which enforces laws involving commercial vehicle safety and permits, registration and driver’s license fraud, and unlicensed auto dealers, among other areas.

While conducting safety inspections of commercial vehicles, ADOT officers occasionally discover apparent criminal activity that includes smuggling of drugs, cash, weapons and people. At the I-40 Topock Port of Entry alone, ADOT officers have seized 686 pounds of marijuana, 21 pounds of methamphetamine and 53 pounds of cocaine since 2014.

“This is a matter of highway safety,” ADOT Director John Halikowski said. “Our officers, along with the Arizona Department of Public Safety and local law enforcement agencies, find illegal drugs and cases of human smuggling on our highways. Adding K-9s where we are already screening commercial vehicles makes us a more capable and effective team.”

The K-9s, both of the Belgian Malinois breed, are trained to detect illegal drugs and human cargo. From their bases in Ehrenberg and Sanders, the units work at interstate ports of entry along the California and New Mexico state lines.

The pilot program to obtain and train both K-9s cost $29,000.

Officers with ADOT’s Enforcement and Compliance Division also investigate fraud involving driver licenses and vehicle titles and assist other law enforcement agencies when requested.