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Smoke Is a Necessary Part of Northern Arizona's Landscape
Ponderosa Pine forests are fire-adapted ecosystems. More than 100 years of effort to protect the American landscape from any fire has, in many cases, done the exact opposite. Today, we know that keeping fires out of the forests allows dead wood and other fuels to build up, so instead of natural and frequent low fires that clean up the forest like a janitor, flames can climb into the crowns of the trees, killing them and burning so hot that they leave total devastation and destruction to the landscape and communities. Mother Nature uses fire to right the balance, and we have kept that from happening and must now play catch-up in the form of prescribed burns and managed fires.
WE DO NOT HAVE A CHOICE.
So—whether we like it or not—fire and smoke will occur either one of two ways: catastrophically or under safer conditions (i.e. prescribed burns or natural wildfires we manage when conditions are safe). Thus, we use prescribed burns and allow some lightning-caused wildfires to move across the landscape to clean and restore the forest to healthier conditions instead of the old ideology of suppressing every fire that pops up. The old ideology allowed for the buildup of forest fuels to a point where extremely hot fires destroy the landscape, property and communities. For more information on why prescribed burns are necessary and how to prepare for them, please visit our Fire Management page.
Prescribed burn projects usually commence during the early spring and fall months in northern Arizona. The public can get informed about upcoming prescribed burn projects and forest happenings by signing up to receive news releases in their email. The user just needs to provide their email address and select the “General public and local residents” list on the page before clicking “Sign Up.”
All projects are dependent upon weather conditions, so some of the projects might be cancelled at the last minute after testing weather conditions the day of the burn. You can check back here any time for updates, as this information is updated as it becomes available.
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There are currently no prescribed burns planned for the week of May 12. Check back regularly for updates, as this site is updated any time new information is made available.
| Current as of | Mon, 05/12/2025 - 15:17 |
|---|---|
| Incident Type | Prescribed Fire |
| Incident Commander | Coconino National Forest |
| Incident Description | Prescribed burns are important part of forest restoration and protecting communities by creating buffers around them. Prescribed burns and mechanical thinning work together to remove fuels such as woody debris and logging scraps from the forest floor during times of opportune weather. Fire managers make every effort to effectively plan and execute burn plans at times when weather allows for smoke impacts to be minimized and transport up and over communities. If you have a complaint about the smoke impacts you are experiencing from any of the prescribed burn projects and would like to talk to a member of Fire Management Leadership, please call our hotline at 928-226-4608 and leave your message with your name and number and someone will return your call as soon as they are able. |
| Coordinates |
35° 11' 8.9'' Latitude
-111° 40' 26
'' Longitude
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