WILLIAMS — A mixture of moisture and sunny weather have presented excellent conditions for prescribed burning to continue on both the Williams and Tusayan Ranger Districts of the Kaibab National Forest. Starting Wednesday this week, treatments will resume on the Marteen Rx project located five miles northwest of Spring Valley and east of Red Hill.
Approximately 3000 acres remain on the Marteen project and fire managers hope to complete these last two blocks in two days. Crews may then move back to the Tusayan Ranger District to continue working on the Blue Stem Rx project located approximate 15 miles southeast of Tusayan.
As the Marteen burn resumes, smoke will be visible from Highway 180, State Route 64 near Howard Mesa, Valle, Red Lakes, and Spring Valley. Smoke is expected to transport northeast throughout the day, and then may settle on scene and to the south of Valle with light impacts to state route 64. This project is expected to be completed by Thursday afternoon.
Spring time weather patterns present beneficial opportunities for prescribed burning that help managers reach land management objectives while minimizing smoke impacts. Early seasonal breezes typically transport smoke away from sensitive areas rapidly which can often be more challenging at other times of the year.
All prescribed fires are subject to approval by an agency administrator, and by the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality. The department’s Air Quality Division: Smoke Management webpage provides details about its air quality program. To learn more about smoke and public health, visit bit.ly/SmokeHealthAwareness.
The Kaibab National Forest remains committed to providing the public with ongoing updates with as much advance notice as possible. Sign up to receive Kaibab NF news releases in your email.
Our land management strategy is centered on long-term forest health, including reducing forest fuels and using prescribed fire on the landscape. Prescribed fires help reduce hazardous fuels that have accumulated due to drought, climate change, insects and disease, and decades of fire suppression. Fire also recycles nutrients back to the soil, promotes the growth of trees, wildflowers, and other plants, and improves habitat for threatened and endangered species. These efforts align with the Forest Service’s 10-year Wildfire Crisis Strategy which aims to increase prescribed fire and other treatments to improve forest resiliency for generations to come.
Additional information can be found on the Kaibab NF website, Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, or by calling the Fire Information Hotline at 928-635-8311 or contacting local ranger stations.
WILLIAMS — I Found a Quilted Heart, or 
WILLIAMS — For the past few days, Williams has been sprucing up the street lines around town. Northern Arizona Gazette commends the street department for their quick, professional job. Not only did they actually get the paint over the previous lines ( a problem in the past), they are doing it in a quick fashion that was of little annoyance to downtown businesses and residents.
WILLIAMS — The motorcycle riders of 
participate in Memorial Day events. The goal of the groups is to bring awareness of those who gave their lives for their country and those still missing in action.
Williams — The recent snow has caused many businesses to shut down. Even 
The good news is that the sun came out about noon and started melting off the current snow. As the sun set, the temperatures dropped and the melt-off quickly started to freeze. The Weather Service long range forecast shows sunny days ahead through Thursday.
The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm watch from Sunday night through 5:00 p.m. Monday evening. Areas above 5000-feet are expected to receive 5- to 5-inches of snow with localized amounts between 8 and 12-inches.