The Twin Fire of October 2009 near Williams caused by an out-of-control prescribed burn. (Photo Marv Mason from I-40)
Williams has not seen a major fire since a prescribed burn went out of control resulting in the Twin Fires of October 2009. Two prescribed burns were swept by winds to join into a conflagration that caused concern and evacuations of portions of the City of Williams.
At that time water in Williams was plentiful.
Mayor John Moore of Williams optimistically stated that we probably have enough non-potable water in Santa Fe, Gonzales Lake and other reservoirs to fight a fire. He is not anxious, however, to test the theory. Williams would have access to the Hot Shots, air craft and other fire resources currently combating the Slide Rock fire.
“The Slide Rock fire is a bad situation,” Mayor Moore said. “I am sorry for those people. I’m happy we don’t have a fire here, but that doesn’t mean that it couldn’t occur here. Particularly looking at the thunderstorm situation predicted for this weekend. Those are actually fire starters.”
Williams normally experiences high winds during this time frame which generally rescind, for the most part, after Memorial Day. Winds are expected to be between 7 to 13 mph with gusts up to 24 mph through Thursday night. The long range forecast for this week shows a chance of thunderstorms through Memorial Day with a 20% chance of precipitation Thursday night rising to 30% Friday night.
The question is whether or not there will be enough precipitation to keep the Kaibab Forest around Williams open.
“I will be talking to the forest service tomorrow [May 20] to see if they have got any new plans; what their intentions are,” Moore said. “Right now if they said ‘Close her down’ I would support them 100%. I hate to loose the business—and we are going to loose business—but that’s our livelihood for years to come.”