PINETOP-LAKESIDE — Just because the seasonal monsoons have arrived in the White Mountains and the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest has rescinded fire restrictions as of July 16, it is no time to let down your guard when it comes to being wildfire savvy. We are still in fire season and on Ju…
Huge crowds celebrated and enjoyed a fireworks display at Mogollon High School on Saturday evening.
SHOW LOW — Now that summer is official, people are ready to get outdoors, however Mother Nature appears to have different ideas.
SHOW LOW – Like it or not, with drought comes fires.
SHOW LOW – Extreme fire conditions have northern Arizona residents on extreme edge. With existing fires since early in the month and now a breakout of several new lightning-caused fires having broken out over the weekend near Heber, residents are praying for a swift relief from the monsoons.
“It’s like having gasoline out there,” said Brian Steinhardt, forest fire zone manager for Prescott and Coconino national forests in Arizona, in a recent Associated Press story about the increasingly fire-prone West.
The frightening fire danger faced by Navajo and Apache county was underscored this week by a small fire in Heber that consumed an acre of brush and trees in less than 10 minutes, Navajo County’s Fire Restrictions Coordinator Catrina Jenkins warned the board of supervisors.
SHOW LOW — At that regular Fire Board meeting on March 22, the Timber Mesa Fire and Medical District (TMFMD) amended the adopted fire and life safety code to the 2018 International Fire Code (IFC).
SPRINGERVILLE — Interagency public land management partners from Arizona and New Mexico have worked to develop a map-based web tool to inform the public about fire restrictions on public lands. Partner agencies, under the Southwest Coordinating Group, have worked together to develop a new in…
CIBECUE — The G22 Fire that ignited 10 miles northwest of Cibecue on Sunday, April 4, has continued to grow in size from 70 acres to 400 acres as of Wednesday.
Spring is in the air.
ALPINE— The Alpine Ranger District on the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests plans to begin small portions of the Wallow West Unit 4 West prescribed burn starting the first week of April, and possibly into early May, depending on weather conditions and forecast.
SHOW LOW — “Don’t let the recent moisture fool you! This wildfire season has the potential for significant fire and loss.” Fire Chief Bryan Savage said at a recent meeting of the Timber Mesa Fire and Medical District Board.
Despite a fresh round of storms this week, the Arizona Department of Forestry has issued a grim warning to brace for another dangerous fire season.
PINETOP-LAKESIDE — A small fire near Porter Mountain Road in Lakeside that burned less than one acre (.59) on Monday, March 8, raised awareness and possibly anxiety about an early fire season.
PHOENIX — Good news for hunters and other outdoor recreationists — The Tonto National Forest lifted the Bush Post-Fire Flooding Public Safety Closure Order on Friday.
It’s official: Buckle up.
Every month, a coalition of Forest Service, elected officials and logging industry types gather for the Natural Resources Working Group, in a brave, uphill effort to rebuild a nearly dismantled industry. Their success may determine whether forested communities like Payson and Show Low go the…
4FRI does seem to be moving painfully slow, concluded the loggers, mill operators and other industry and environmental groups gathered for the Resource Group’s meeting. The original scheduled called for 4FRI to thin 50,000 acres a year. But in eight years the project has thinned a total of m…
Stark differences separate the District 6 legislative candidates when it comes to preventing the plague of wildfires from swallowing up forested communities.
SPRINGERVILLE — The Alpine Ranger District on the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests published a “Final Update” of the the Cow Canyon Fire, Monday, Oct. 26.
The NovoPower biomass plant near Snowflake.
Arizona Corporation Commissioner Leah Marquez Peterson’s dogged effort to spur a reconsideration of a biomass mandate this month hit another setback.
HOLBROOK — On Monday October 19th, the voting members of the White Mountain Fire Coordinating Group, met to discuss the current conditions of the forests throughout the region. At that meeting the members voted to recommend the enactment of fire restrictions throughout Apache and Navajo Coun…
SPRINGERVILLE — The U.S. Forest Service, Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests (ASNF) staff provided clarification to the Independent regarding Stage 1 Fire Restrictions implemented Friday, Oct 9.
SPRINGERVILLE – Almost halfway through October and well into Firewood Month, the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests entered Stage 1 Fire Restrictions. The forest is experiencing typical increase in visitors during this time as the fall colors change, large hunts take place, and communities p…
It’s got the weather man freaked out.
Once more into the breech, dear friends.
SPRINGERVILLE — Last week, the Springerville office of the U.S. Forest Service, Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests received several inquires about smoke. People driving on SR260 and US60 were able to see the smoke from the Jake Springs Fire from the highway.
SPRINGERVILLE – As of September 30, the Cow Canyon Fire is active on all edges and is burning through ground fuels with some isolated torching. Fire activity has increased over the last two days and led to some additional suppression efforts by firefighting crews but overall continues to rem…
WASHINGTON – Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs (AS-IA) Tara Katuk Sweeney recently announced that the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) schools operating on the Navajo Nation will open for students via distance learning for the first nine weeks of the 2020-21 school year. The BIE operates …
Apache and Navajo Counties have weathered the pandemic in surprisingly good shape so far — but buckle up, storm clouds continue to gather thanks to continued high unemployment, a lack of continued state and federal stimulus and the state’s underfunded, overwhelmed unemployment system.
Fires that have charred 5 million acres on the west coast and killed at least 27 people have highlighted the long, frustrating, stalled effort to avoid catastrophe in Rim County and the White Mountains.
“Exceptional” drought.
A firefighter ignites a back burn to help contain the Lofer Fire.
UPDATE: Crews have "pretty much established a line around the fire," according to BIA Wildland Management Public Information Officer Candy Lupe via phone at 3:20 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 10.
The NovoPower biomass plant near Snowflake.
ARIZONA — There are more than 30 wildfires burning in Arizona and those are only the ones on public, state and forest land. This doesn’t include fires on the reservations tracked by the Bureau of Indian Affairs Forestry and Wildland Fire Management and other agencies.
The Forest Service has once again postponed the deadline for awarding contracts to thin almost a million acres of overgrown, fire-prone forest, to the near-despair of sawmill and power plant operators clinging to the end of their rope.
An air tanker makes a slurry drop over the Blue River 2 Fire on the San Carlos Apache Reservation.
Fire crews work the Cassadore Fire.
Fire crews stand by for a water drop on the Blue River 2 Fire.
The Cassadore Fire burns on the San Carlos Apache Reservation.
GLOBE — Over the weekend, the Gin Fire and the Griffin Fire burning five miles north of Globe merged. It is now called the Griffin Fire with total combined acreage burned at 33,403. The complex fire was reported at 30% containment on Monday by the Southwest Incident Management Team 5.
