2025 Arizona Fire Season

[chumley]

Stage 1 fire restrictions starting Friday, February 28th at 8:00 a.m.

Holbrook, AZ – On Tuesday, February 25th, the voting members of the White Mountain Fire Coordinating Group (WMFCG) convened to assess current forest conditions and weather patterns throughout the region. The members voted to recommend the enactment of Stage 1 fire restrictions in the unincorporated areas of Apache and Navajo Counties on Friday, February 28th, 2025, at 8:00 a.m. Several other agencies, including the USFS Apache-Sitgreaves Forests, Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management, and select municipalities, will also implement similar restrictions.

Notably, Apache-Sitgreaves NF, which is part of the group, has not publicly posted the restriction yet (could just be that they don't currently employ anybody who can work their website -- A-S has always been a little slow on their comms team), though they are listed as a participating agency in the attached press release.

Apache-Sitgreaves NF spans the forest land along the Mogollon Rim across central and eastern Arizona from Knoll Lake to the New Mexico state line.

[Grimey]

I suppose eventually the USFS will actually post this order on the website...

[chumley]

@Grimey It's really poor management to enact an area closure with 2 hours notice for somewhere that is popular for backpacking and probably gets a good number of visitors who have driven 3-4 hours to get there. There's no reason they couldn't announce an impactful closure like this a couple of days ahead of time.

But if you read the comments on their social post, it's 99% people who think they should shut the whole forest down. You'd think the Phoenix Fire Department lives up there.

[xsproutx]

@chumley
I literally had just finished packing my truck to head out there for 3 nights and came back to my computer to shoot out a couple work emails and checked here.

Guess plan b is beers by the pool or something

[Jim]

@xsproutx
Pinalenos

[xsproutx]

@Jim
Yeh, that's on my list as it's one of the last areas in the state I haven't explored at least a little bit. I just didn't/don't have a ready made plan that I could have leaned on and need to research reliable water there

[Grimey]

Restrictions and closures typically remain in effect until the area receives significant, widespread precipitation.

Looks like a decent chance of some rain in the area this week. Hopefully it will be "significant" and "widespread", and won't not start any new fires.

[Jim]

@xsproutx
If you're backpacking I can't say how that would be. Car camping is totally different and water is usually abundant or has been when I have visited. Usually summer and fall after rains came since the Angle Orchard harvest was going. BTW, white peaches start around July 4 and yellow ones about 2 weeks later.

Oh, uh, something about fire...uh, there is a fire in Utah near Bryce. Ok then.

[chumley]

I missed some of the Kaibab NF announcements
6/18 - Williams district enacted stage 2 restrictions and Bill Williams Mountain was closed to all use for watershed protection.
6/27 - Tusayan and North Kaibab districts enact stage 1 restrictions
All the details: https://www.fs.usda.gov/r03/kaibab

[hikeaz]

Transformer malfunction has been rulred out.

It was 'ruled out' by Navopache, the owner/operator of said transformer. I have not seen another "gubment entity" agree yet - citing "under investigation".

[RedRoxx44]

Oak Ridge fire on the Res, about 8 miles from Window Rock. Navajo Nation has declared an emergency and some evacuations have been ordered. In addition a main power source has been shut down and rerouted power is being used which might result in some instability.

[Grimey]

White Sage Fire, mandatory evacuations for North Rim GCNP.

https://www.nps.gov/grca/emergency.htm

[chumley]

@Grimey
NFS land north and south of Jacob Lake also in “go” mandatory evacuation status too

[hikeaz]

89 closed WB from Jacob Lake to Fredonia. Utah travelers are in for a pretty lengthy work-around. House Rock Valley Road for some... all the way to Page for others.

[chumley]

@hikeaz
*89A is closed -- 89 is the open route.

ADOT is reporting that NORTHbound 89A is closed at Bitter Springs. I saw a social media post where a motorist asked if they would be able to travel on 89A to destinations such as Lees Ferry or Cliff Dwellers Lodge, to which the social media person from ADOT replied with "US 89A is closed to traffic at Bitter Springs".

[Grimey]

Lots of smoke in the inner canyon per Kolb Studio webcam. Looks miserable down there, heat and smoke...

[The_Eagle]

@Grimey https://www.nps.gov/media/webcam/view.h ... 8E8AB6D5B3

[The_Eagle]

There is also a managed fire that's been going on since 7/7. The Dragon Bravo Fire is about 350 acres and is about 3 miles north of the North Rim Lodge and 3 miles west of Route 67. https://app.watchduty.org/i/54142

[azbackpackr]

@chumley
I was informed that's an AI generated response.
It's open to Lees Ferry and Marble Canyon, but only to those who have business there. A friend of mine who owns one of the hotels drove up from Flag this morning, and they let him pass through. If you work there, live there, are launching a river trip, etc., you can go in.

[big_load]

There was quite a bit of video on NBC News this evening. Besides the big smoke clouds rising, it showed what looked like heavy smoke sitting down in a huge swath of the Canyon.

[00blackout]

There is also a smaller fire in the Anchas. The Billy Fire is currently 362 acres burning on Center Mountain and the Billy Lawrence TH/Canyon area. Does not seem high intensity right now, hopefully just burns away all the locust.