WILLIAMS, Ariz., Dec. 3, 2019 — Ideal conditions presented with recent snowfall will allow fire managers on the Kaibab National Forest to continue meeting fuels reduction objectives by burning slash piles over the next several weeks at various locations.

Crews will be igniting piles today along the south and southeast side of Bill Williams Mountain about 5 miles south of the city of Williams. Once ignited, some of these piles will be visible on the upper slopes. Additional Locations for pile burning in the weeks ahead will include the Shiner unit just north of Barney Flat, the Isham unit just south of Scholz Lake, and the Round unit on the southeast side of Round Mountain.

Objectives for these pile burns include reducing fuels and improving overall forest health and resiliency. Piles are the result of forest restoration projects, and the purpose of burning them is to reduce forest fuels that could contribute to high-intensity wildfires.

Piles typically burn rapidly and produce far less smoke for shorter durations than larger broadcast burns over the landscape. Minimal to light smoke impacts are anticipated. However, air quality will be monitored closely and actions taken as necessary to minimize the effects on residential developed areas. There are no road or trail closures expected with the pile burns planned for the Williams Ranger District. Fire managers will continue to seek opportunities throughout the winter to conduct pile burns as conditions allow.

All prescribed burns are subject to approval from the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality. Members of the public may view approved prescribed burns for any given day on the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality’s website at smoke.azdeq.gov/

To learn more about smoke and public health, visit bit.ly/SmokeHealthAwareness

Notifications of upcoming prescribed fire projects are provided regularly by news releases throughout the year and through the following sources:

•        InciWeb: inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5922/ 

•        Kaibab National Forest Website: www.fs.usda.gov/kaibab

•        Twitter: www.twitter.com/KaibabNF

•        Facebook: www.facebook.com/KaibabNF

•        Fire Information Recorded Hotline: (928) 635-8311