WILLIAMS — The Kaibab National Forest is temporarily suspending the issuance of personal use cinder permits for Moonset Pit on the Williams Ranger District due to operations underway to expand and improve the popular cinder collection area.
Moonset Pit is located just west of Parks, off a dirt road, east of Spitz Springs and to the north of old Route 66. The Kaibab National Forest, working in conjunction with Coconino County, is undertaking a pit expansion project over the next two years in order to make the area safer and also easier to access and use for cinder collection purposes.
Specifically, several acres of trees will be cut and then removed. It is expected this wood will be made available to the public as free firewood once that work has been completed. Then, the existing material in the pit will be moved and rearranged in order to create a more stable and durable structure.
“This pit expansion project is really about public safety,” said Deirdre McLaughlin, lands and minerals staff officer for the Williams and Tusayan districts of the Kaibab National Forest. “We had personal use cinder collectors in the pit who would dig into the material and then have issues with the top collapsing in. We have to restructure the pit so that we don’t have those potentially dangerous situations.”
While the expansion and improvement project is underway, the Kaibab National Forest will not issue personal use cinder permits for Moonset Pit. However, cinder collectors will still be able to obtain personal use permits for W Triangle Pit, also located on the Williams Ranger District. Individuals interested in obtaining a personal use cinder permit should contact the Williams Ranger District office at (928) 635-5600.
A portion of Moonset Pit is also made available by Kaibab National Forest to members of the public to dispose of natural forest debris on specific days in order to assist residents in creating a defensible space around their homes and property. This public service will continue to be offered and will not be impacted by the expansion project. To view open pit dates and additional information on the wildfire risk reduction service, visit http://go.usa.gov/cuYbP.