FLAGSTAFF — The Coconino County Public Works Department, in conjunction
with the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Forest Service, has closed the
2.5-mile stretch of Garland Prairie Road between Sycamore Creek to the east and
McDougal Flat to the west due to flooding along the roadway. Access to Garland Prairie
Road from White Horse Lake Road, which intersects from the south, also has been
closed, and signage is in place to direct motorists away from the flooded area.
This closure is necessary for public safety as flows of at least two feet in depth have
been reported on this section of Garland Prairie Road. The closure will remain in effect
until weather conditions allow Public Works to safely reopen the roadway.
Category Archives: City
2023 pronghorn, elk hunt draw results available
The Arizona Game and Fish Department (AZGFD) has released the draw results for 2023 pronghorn and elk hunts.
A customer’s AZGFD portal account is the only source for finding out draw results and viewing bonus points. A free portal account can be created at accounts.azgfd.com/Account/Register (account features for minor dependents are available).
A portal account allows customers to create a secure account where they can view and manage their contact information, as well as their licenses, draw results history and bonus points in their personal “My AZGFD Dashboard” section. For questions about creating a portal account, call 602-942-3000 and press “7.”
By the numbers:
- 24,863: The total number of hunt permit-tags issued.
- 225,376: The total number of those who applied for hunts or bonus points.
- 184,489: The total number of applications submitted.
AZGFD expects to mail hunt permit-tags to customers by April 14, with the exception of those who have downloaded the new Arizona E-Tag mobile app (from either the Apple or Google Play stores) and opted-in to receive an electronic hunt permit-tag in their portal account. Customers who have downloaded the app but opted-in after the Feb. 14 deadline will receive their hunt permit-tag by mail. Information: www.azgfd.gov/hunting.
Public meeting March 29 for Drake Cement proposed exploration
WILLLIAMS – The Kaibab National Forest will host a community meeting for Drake Cement’s proposed pozzolan exploration project to answer clarifying questions about the proposal and the overall environmental analysis process. All interested parties are welcome.
Community Meeting for Drake Cement proposed pozzolan exploration
(Open House – no scheduled presentations – come and go at your convenience)
Wednesday, March 29, 2023
Williams High School Viking Grill (440 S 7th St, Williams, AZ 86046)
5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
The purpose of scoping is to help the Forest Service understand concerns people have about the effects a project may have on natural and cultural resources and nearby communities. To be most helpful, comments should clearly articulate your concerns. Be as specific as possible and support your statements with facts and references, and be solution-oriented. Do more than just provide an opinion or vote. Note that names, addresses, and comments become part of the public record for the project.
You can submit your comments by email, mail, fax, or hand deliver it to the Williams Ranger District Office during business hours. There will also be a collection box at the meeting for hard-copy comments. Any hard copy comments should be as legible as possible to ensure they are properly transposed into the public record.
Email: comments-southwestern-kaibab-williams@usda.gov (include “Drake Bill Williams Exploration Project” in the subject line)
Mail and hand delivery:
Kaibab National Forest – Williams Ranger District
Attention: Drake Bill Williams Exploration
742 S. Clover Road
Williams, AZ 86046
Fax: (928) 635-5680
Information about the project can be found at www.fs.usda.gov/goto/DrakeProposedExploration.
After Record-Breaking Snow, Coconino County Roads Will Remain Hazardous Through Weekend
FLAGSTAFF — Much of Coconino County continues to be under a Winter Storm Warning by the National Weather Service (NWS) office in Flagstaff. The Arizona Department of Transportation reports many state routes and interstates have now reopened, but hazardous road conditions may persist.
“We’ve believe we’ve seen the worst of it, for now at least,” said Coconino County Manager Steve Peru. “We understand our communities have withstood one of the worst winter storm seasons in history. Our public safety agencies are working around the clock to assist the public to the greatest extent possible.”
The forecast for the weekend promises the return of sunshine and slightly higher temperatures, the reprieve is greatly needed to make headway on clearing hundreds of miles of county roads.
The County Public Works Department continues to plow and maintain hundreds of miles of county roads. Public Works staff are asking the public to please reduce driving over the weekend and move cars off of streets into driveways so they have the greatest leeway for storm recovery. Public Works community relations staff are available weekdays during business hours at (928) 679-8300 for urgent requests. Frequently asked questions about County roads and snow removal priorities can be found online at www.coconino.az.gov/snow
With record-breaking snow amounts, the Winter recreation season in Northern Arizona should last several more weeks. Those looking to travel to Coconino County for winter recreation should consider delaying until after this weekend to allow time for proper road cleanup and snow removal.
Coconino County Storm Information
Snow Removal Information
County Twitter
Emergency Management Twitter
Public Works: (928) 679- 8300 from 7:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Arizona Department of Transportation
ADOT Traveler Information and Closures
ADOT Twitter
National Weather Service
Local Forecast and Alerts
NWS Twitter
Bearizona closes for a record number of days
Williams — The recent snow has caused many businesses to shut down. Even Bearizona Drive-Thru Wildlife park was affected.
In a release, Sean Casey wrote, “After getting 13 more inches of snow last night, we are now at 10 feet! Not surprisingly, it has caused Bearizona to close for a record number of days this snow season.”
The latest snow dropped 13″ of snow in downtown Williams. That caused many of the businesses downtown to shut their doors and hunker down at home. Most restaurants and chain-stores remained open.
According to the Flagstaff Weather Service in Bellemont, Bellemont set a record of 146.7-inches beating out the 2009-2010 winter season. Flagstaff received 140.1-inches of snow this season almost reaching the 1948-1949 season when they received 153.9-inches. Williams received over 90″ of snow this season.
The good news is that the sun came out about noon and started melting off the current snow. As the sun set, the temperatures dropped and the melt-off quickly started to freeze. The Weather Service long range forecast shows sunny days ahead through Thursday.
Flood Control District Board Approves Two Essential Funding Sources for County Flood Mitigation Projects
FLAGSTAFF — At this week’s special session of the Coconino County Flood Control District Board of Directors they approved acceptance of two new Federal grants that will enable the District to immediately proceed with the first phase of long-term flood mitigation projects in the Schultz-Pipeline Flood Area.
The Schultz-Pipeline Flood Area is defined as the neighborhoods downstream of nine major watersheds damaged by the Schultz Wildfire in 2010 and the Pipeline Wildfire this past year. The District, along with several engineering partners, have determined that without extensive on-forest and neighborhood mitigation measures, the risk of life-threatening floods affecting our communities will only increase.
“The priority of local government is the health and safety of our citizens, and our citizens’ lives and homes were severely impacted this past monsoon season by the nine watersheds compromised by two major wildfires,” said Chair of the Board Patrice Horstman.
“We want to thank Senators Kelly and Sinema and former Congressman Tom O’Halleran for their strong support with securing this unprecedented funding. Without it, the District and County would have likely had to cut other services to provide flood mitigation.”
The two funding sources include $42 million from the United States Forest Service, which allows the District to commence with on-forest watershed restoration projects. After the Pipeline Fire damaged the nine watersheds, the downstream water flows increased 10 to 26 times resulting a massive amount of sediment leaving the burn area and moving into the downstream neighborhoods. On-forest watershed restoration is the most critical piece of the District’s flood mitigation plans, as these measures help reduce the flow of dangerous sediment and other debris that is impacting downstream neighborhoods.
“The Coconino National Forest is thrilled to continue our amazing partnership with Coconino County and support the important work to manage the impacts from wildfire and flooding in and around our communities,” said Aaron Mayville, Forest Supervisor on the Coconino National Forest. “We’re all in this together and I look forward to seeing the great work this funding will make possible.”
The second funding mechanism is $9 million through an agreement with the Natural Resources Conservation Service as a part of their Emergency Watershed Protection Program (EWPP) to begin neighborhood flood mitigation projects in the Wupatki Trails and Brandis Way flood corridors. These projects will focus on improvements to channels and box culverts that will better manage the increased flood waters within these neighborhoods. The neighborhood flood mitigation from the Schultz Fire era was overwhelmed by the increased water flows during 45 major flood events in June, July, and August of 2022.
The Emergency Watershed Protection Program, a federal emergency recovery program administered by the Natural Resources Conservation Service, helps local communities recover after a natural disaster strikes. The program offers technical and financial assistance to help local communities relieve imminent threats to life and property caused by floods, fires, windstorms, and other natural disasters that impair a watershed.
“These grants are the product of great teamwork between the District and our partners and representatives in Washington D.C.,” added District 5 Supervisor Lena Fowler. “I’m so pleased that we have this good news about being able to address the impacts of both the wildfires and the flooding afterwards.”
For the status of the Flood Control District’s ongoing flood mitigation efforts, important information about proper water management on private property, and information about private flood insurance and FEMA’s National Flood Insurance Program, please visit: https://www.coconino.az.gov/2926/SchultzPipeline-Flood-Area
Logging operations to begin near airport
FLAGSTAFF3 — Logging operations will begin this week in Coconino National Forest surrounding Flagstaff Pulliam Airport.
The Southside Airport Timber Project is slated to begin Wednesday (March 1) and is comprised of 31 units and 2,023 acres adjacent to the airport, as far south as Old Munds Highway and as far east as Fay Canyon.
Harvesting this area will benefit the forest ecosystem by thinning overgrown stands of Ponderosa pine, improve foraging habitat for wildlife and reduce extreme wildfire risk to the community.
The public should be aware of falling timber and heavy truck traffic in the area, as operations will involve heavy machinery and log truck traffic along Forest Service roads 3E and 3T, with trucks entering and exiting Lake Mary Road at the intersections of Frontier, J.W. Powell and South Pulliam roads.
Signage will be displayed to inform the public when entering an area of operation
Arizona License and ID cards are getting an updated look
The Arizona Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Division (MVD) will be releasing brand new driver license and ID cards this March. The new design will include several new security features that help prevent counterfeit reproductions or fraudulent use.
Attempted counterfeits of driver license and ID cards continue to be a concern for law enforcement, as well as personal information security. The advancement of security features in the card help prevent those counterfeit attempts from being successful.
The new design, which highlights several Arizona features, is a result of a new contract with Thales Group. Thales was selected through a procurement process as the new vendor, because of the company’s ability to provide the latest security features on driver license and ID cards.
New features of this card include:
- 100% polycarbonate material that consists of multiple layers of plastic, fused together without adhesives, to form a solid structure impervious to tampering. The high durability of polycarbonate also provides the longest lifespan of any card, allowing for extended card life without compromise.
- Laser-engraved information and black and white photo.
“Dynaprint,” with two high-resolution images that appear based on the angle of the card, provides front-line authenticators with assurance that the card is genuine and strong protection against duplication or reproduction efforts. - Saguaro cactus and ponderosa pine tree images were selected to represent the diversity of Arizona terrain and communities.
- “Secure Surface” is another security feature that incorporates a slightly raised surface and provides a subtle feel to part of the card. This is another quick authenticator for law enforcement and other authorities. It also helps reduce potential alterations or fraudulent cards.
The new cards will be available in mid-March, for both the Travel ID and the standard ID.
The current card design will continue to be issued for requests through Feb. 28, and will remain valid until the expiration date.
Visit azdot.gov for more information about the new card design.
Plan for lane restriction on State Route 89A in Cottonwood March 3
The Arizona Department of Transportation advises Cottonwood area drivers to plan for a lane closure on northbound State Route 89A on Friday, March 3.
Drivers should allow for extra travel time while the following daytime restriction is in place from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m.:
- Northbound SR 89A will be narrowed to one lane roughly between 12th and Main streets (milepost 353).
- The sidewalk will be closed and pedestrian traffic diverted to the south side of the roadway at the intersections of 12th Street/SR 89A and Main Street/SR 89A.
- The speed limit will be reduced in the work zone.
The restriction is needed so crews can safely complete roadway repairs. Due to inclement weather, dates and times are subject to change.
ADOT to host in-person public meeting March 8, in Flagstaff to receive input on the 2050 Long Range Transportation Plan
The Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) will host an in-person public meeting to share details and receive input from the public on the 2050 Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP), which will set ADOT’s priorities and vision for Arizona’s transportation system over the next 25 years.
The meeting will be held:
Wednesday, March 8, from 5:30 – 7 p.m., formal presentation at 6 p.m.
Flagstaff Aquaplex, 1702 N. Fourth Street, Flagstaff AZ
To learn more about the plan visit www.adot2050plan.com.
For a full list of our public meeting opportunities, including a virtual option and Telefone Town Hall, follow this link.
The public’s input will be used, along with data about anticipating funding sources and future system needs, to develop the LRTP recommendations. 
ACCOMMODATIONS: Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Pursuant to Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), ADOT does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, sex or disability. Persons who require a reasonable accommodation based on language or disability should contact Nancy Becerra at 623.695.7411 or ngbecerra@azdot.gov. Requests should be made as early as possible to ensure the State has an opportunity to address the accommodation.