Monthly Archives: July 2015

Springs Fire picks up in activity while Key Hole Fire continues to smolder

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Key Hole Sink east of Williams.

WILLIAMS — The Springs Fire on the Williams Ranger District of the Kaibab National Forest picked up in activity yesterday due to drier conditions and higher winds, growing to about 80 acres in size. Meanwhile, the Key Hole Fire remained at 17 acres in size, smoldering and creeping slowly through pine needles and other forest debris.

Fire managers are considering allowing both lightning-caused wildfires to continue growing in order to meet ecological and other resource and community protection objectives. The Springs Fire is located just east of Davenport Knoll about 2 miles south of Summit Mountain east of County Road 73. The Key Hole Fire is located just north of Key Hole Sink near Duck Lake north of Interstate 40.

Yesterday, the Springs Fire put up smoke visible from County Road 73 and from Interstate 40 in the Parks area west to Williams. Due to its increased growth, fire managers used management ignitions along perimeter roads in order to reinforce boundaries established for the fire. Specifically, fire crews used drip torches to burn fuels along forest roads 57 and 354 in order to help define a northeastern perimeter for the growth of the Springs Fire. Smoke may still be present on the 57 and 354 roads in the area, so motorists are asked to use caution when traveling there over the next couple of days.

Today, firefighters will begin additional work in preparation for the Springs Fire’s likely growth. Prep work will include lining range fences, aspen enclosures, and other potentially fire-sensitive resources in the area. This important work ensures that as the fire spreads naturally, fire managers will be able to allow it to grow and treat acres without the risk of negatively impacting these other values in the area. Fire crews will also be monitoring the Key Hole Fire, but growth is less likely due to its location and level of activity over the last several days.

There are no closures in effect related to the Springs or Key Hole fires. Smoke will likely continue to be visible from the Springs Fire. Kaibab National Forest managers want to assure members of the public who may see this smoke that the fire is being monitored and staffed by firefighting personnel and that it is a good candidate for management to achieve resource objectives such as fuels reduction, wildlife habitat improvement, and community protection because of its location and the fuels in which it is burning.

Mason and Old fires merge, treating 2,200 acres southeast of Tusayan

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mason004TUSAYAN — As anticipated by fire managers, two lightning-caused wildfires being managed to improve forest health on the Tusayan Ranger District of the Kaibab National Forest merged yesterday, bringing the total number of acres treated to 2,200. The Mason and Old fires, which are part of the Jar Complex, are located about 7 miles southeast of the Town of Tusayan and 4 miles south of Grandview Lookout Tower.

The two fires are being managed to achieve resource objectives such as enhancing wildlife habitat and reducing the potential for future high-intensity wildland fires within a predetermined 16,100-acre planning area. Today, fire managers expect the combined Mason and Old fires to continue backing through ponderosa pine forest toward the south southwest between forest roads 2733 and 684A/684.

“We expected that the Mason and Old fires would eventually merge,” said Josh Miller, assistant fire management officer for the Tusayan Ranger District. “This is not only good for treating accumulated fuels such as pine needles, brush and small trees in the forest, but it’s also good for ensuring the safety of our fire crews. Managing one fire in an area is safer so that we never have unburned fuels between an active fire and our firefighters. All of our management actions to date have been planned and implemented in anticipation of these fires eventually merging.”

Smoke production from the Jar Complex is expected to be lighter over the next few days due to increasing cloud cover and monsoonal activity. However, it may still be visible from Desert View, Cameron, Tusayan, and highways 64 and 180. Overnight and during the early morning hours, smoke has settled closer to Tusayan and south toward Red Butte. However, as the sun warms up the morning air, that smoke has been lifting and dissipating quickly. Motorists should watch for smoke and use extra caution when driving highways 64 and 180 in the early morning hours.

Build-a-burger at Old Smokey’s

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300-smokeys013WILLIAMS — Over the Independence weekend, some friends and I went to Old Smokey’s restaurant at 125 on historic Route 66 in Williams under the guise of a birthday party.

(Well, since it was my birthday and Lu Carle invited me. Thanks, Lu)

It was my chance to learn about the new Old Smokey’s from the inside. I have heard ravings about their morning fare of biscuits and gravy. What I was interested in is if 300-smokeys012they were part of the build-a-burger group. I found out that, yes, they are. I went in and built-a-burger myself.

Though I must confess, I didn’t build that. Actually, I ordered what I wanted and the cook actually built it.

The meal was great. I had the burger with jalapeno peppers 300-smokeys014cooked to perfection. The hamburger and came with more than enough fries to satisfy the average diner. TIP: Might want to ask for a few extra napkins.

Lu had the Ruben with fruit and Brenda had the mini-burgers with fries. I actually found myself eying the Ruben, one of my favorite sandwiches. Have to try it next chance I get.

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They even brought me birthday cake.

Of course, the big test is the service. Not knowing what an extremely important person I was (to my Mom anyway), I was able to see how they would treat the average Joe off of the street. They were very pleasant. They continually asked if I needed a refill even though I brought my own drink with me. I noticed that they also went around and made sure other customers were attended to, so I knew my birthday disguise was working.

They even waited until my mouth was full before they asked if everything was all right just like every waitress I have ever encountered in the United States. (Do they have some secret school?)

As you can see, I had a little fun with this article. Seriously I have to say that Old Smokey’s is a great place to eat. The restaurant is clean, the staff is courteous, and the food is good. The prices are on par with other restaurants in Williams. Old Smokey’s is a great addition to the storefront of Williams.
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A little history. Old Smokey’s was one of the favorite breakfast and lunch spots in Williams for years. The original Old Smokey’s was located along historic Route 66 across the street from Dairy Queen. In recent times, however, the old restaurant fell into disrepair and the owners moved to their current location. The Old Smokey’s logo in the window is an actual recreation of the original Old Smokey’s logo that was in the window of the original Old Smokey’s, albeit colorized.

Mason Fire, Old Fire expected to merge today

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TUSYAN — The Mason Fire and Old Fire, both lightning caused, are expected to grow together today to form one wildfire. The 1,915-acre Mason Fire is one of four lightning-caused wildfires being managed on the district as part of the Jar Complex to provide ecological and other resource and community protection benefits in the area.

The Mason Fire and Old Fire are both being managed within a predefined 16,100-acre planning area, located about 7 miles southeast of the Town of Tusayan and 4 miles south of Grandview Lookout Tower.

The other two managed fires, Lost and Shale, located east of Highway 64 are showing little to no activity despite the warmer temperatures. Firefighters will continue to monitor these locations, but fire managers expect no growth on these two fires today.

However, the Mason Fire is also expected to grow to the south and east along Forest Road 684 today and more smoke is expected to impact the area. There are no road closures expected in the area of the fire. Road crews are continuing to haul gravel, blade, and make other improvements to the heavily-used roads located north of the active fire area along Forest Roads 301, 301A, 302 and 320. Motorists are urged to use extreme caution when traveling in and around this vicinity due to smoke and firefighters working along the roads.

Smoke from the Mason Fire during the day continues to blow northeast towards Desert View in the Grand Canyon and Cameron, Ariz. In the early mornings, cooler temperatures and a shift in wind direction brings the smoke closer to the ground making it visible in the Town of Tusayan and as far south as Red Butte. However, it will lift and change direction as temperatures increase. Please use caution driving along Highway 64 and Highway 180 during the cooler early morning hours.

Lions Club prepares for Mountain Man run

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upload-lion-run-1aWILLIAMS — The Williams Lions Club is looking forward to the Mountain Man Run and fun walk on Labor Day September 7. The run features a 10-k and 5-k run or fun walk along historic Route 66.

The proceeds benefit community vision and hearing programs. Participants may register here.

The Lions Club has been serving Williams for over 70-years. They meet on the first and third Tuesday of each month at 6:45 am. They meet at Anna’s Grand Canyon Coffee and Cafe at 137 W. Railroad Avenue in the Red Garter Inn. They are always looking for new members.

I-40 westbound travel reduced to one lane and on-ramp closure for County Line (exit 148) just east of Ash Fork

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ASH FORK — Westbound travel on Interstate 40 (I-40) at the County Line traffic interchange (Exit 148) just east of Ash Fork is reduced to one-lane of travel and will be in place continuously including nights and weekends until late July while repairs are underway. Construction within the work-zone will be active during daylight hours; however the restrictions will be in place both day and nighttime hours.

The westbound on-ramp at the County Line (Exit 148) will also be closed while work is being performed at the interchange. The recommended detour is to exit at the Monte Carlo traffic interchange (Exit 149) then cross over for westbound travel.

ADOT advises the public to allow for extra travel time while work is being performed and to observe reduced speeds in the area.

Larry Norfolk passes away

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800-Rose-15-06-0504WILLIAMS — Williams is mourning the loss of a well-know street person, Larry Norfolk. Larry passed away sometime last night at the laundry on Route 66 from apparent natural causes.

Larry was a homeless person in Williams who received help from a number of members of the community. It was reported that he refused help finding a home, but was given shelter by several members of the community. Despite his circumstances, Larry was know throughout the community for his friendliness.

Currently it is unclear what memorial services will be arranged.

Another unrestrained dog bite incident in Flagstaff

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FLAGSTAFF — On July 9, 2015 at approximately 09:14 hours, the Flagstaff Police Department was called to investigate a dog bite incident which occurred in the 500 block of Tombstone.

250-dog-bite0212According to the victim, who was running on the street in an easterly direction, a white and brown pit bull jumped the fence of a residence and bit her in the stomach and her hand.  A witness who was driving in the area reported to have seen the incident and came to the victim’s assistance.  The owner of the pit bull came out into the street and contained the animal.

The victim received medical attention by responding paramedics.  The owner of the pit bull was issued a criminal citation under Flagstaff City Code for vicious dog at large.

The Flagstaff Police Department would like to remind citizens of responsible dog ownership which includes containing and restraining their pets.  Once a dog has jumped a fence, or has managed to escape their containment onto public property, they are considered a “dog at large.”  Owners can be issued a criminal citation for this offense which may include a fine and or jail time.

The following is the specific Flagstaff City Code:

  • 6-02-001-0001:  FAILURE TO CONTROL DOG
  • DOG AT LARGE:  Every person owning or having charge, care, custody or control of any dog of any ages shall keep such a dog(s) exclusively upon his or her own premises; provided, however, that the dog may be off such premises if it is under the control of a competent person and restrained by a chain, leash, rope or cord of sufficient strength to contain and control such dog

The Flagstaff Police Department will be increasing enforcement of our local leash laws, and are asking for your cooperation with this initiative.

Williams youths open new business over Independence weekend

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Trevor Cookston, Andrew Hughes (pictured) join Mawell Williams as newest business owner.

Trevor Cookston, Andrew Hughes (pictured) join Mawell Williams as newest business owner.

WILLIAMS — Three Williams youths opened up a new video game store and arcade in the mall. Andrew Hughes, Trevor Cookston and Mawell Williams pooled their stock of Atari games through a selection of the latest PS4 games to start the business. The business is located in Suite 109 of the mall at 117 Route 66 (Next to the American Legion).

Trevor pointed out that the distance to Flagstaff and the price of some of the games keep video games out of the reach of some Williams gamers. They hope to keep the prices of games reasonable.

Currently they have a good selection of older video games for the PS and X-Box machines as well as a small selection of the games machines. They will consider trading video games and purchasing working game machines.

In the back room they have installed an arcade with some of the classic video game machines. Andrew said that they plan to trade them out on occasion to keep the selection fresh. He said that when circumstances permit, they hope to have a full arcade on Route 66.

Their current hours are from 10 am to 8 pm daily except Sunday when they close at 6 p.m.

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North Kaibab Ranger District considers managing second wildfire

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FREDONIA — Continued lightning activity on the North Kaibab Ranger District throughout the Independence weekend resulted in another wildfire on the Kaibab Plateau that North Zone fire managers are considering managing in order to improve forest health.

The Burnt Fire is located within the southern portion of the 28,060 acre Burnt Corral Vegetation Management Project area off of Forest Service Road 228A and has grown to approximately 1 acre since its discovery on July 5. Earlier this week, North Zone fire managers and forest resource specialists met to discuss the appropriate management strategy and develop a planning area boundary of 3,915 acres.

When deciding whether a particular wildfire is appropriate to manage to meet resource objectives, fire managers analyze the availability of fire personnel and equipment, terrain, weather, potential smoke impacts, cost, and potential resource benefits, and then make a recommendation to the line officer with input from all forest resource specialists. During this consultation, resource specialists consider all factors in order to provide the line officer with an overall big picture so that a decision can be made to manage the fire for resource benefit or suppress.

“The goals and objectives of the Burnt Corral project are to improve forest health and vigor while enhancing habitat conditions by making them more resilient to change in the event of wildfire or other climatic condition changes such as drought,” said North Kaibab District Ranger Randall Walker. “Management of this fire is in alignment with our forest plan, with the goals and objectives of the Burnt Corral project, and with the expected ebb and flow of monsoonal activity. Our goal is to reduce fuel loading, promote wildlife habitat, and treat approximately twelve percent of the Burnt Corral project area thus increasing that resiliency.”

Today, local resources are working on preparing the planning area and coordinating dozer line construction with fire archaeologists to protect cultural resources, timber stands, wildlife, and water catchments.

“Successful management of wildfire caused by lightning will help reduce the risk of future high-intensity wildfires to surrounding communities,” said North Zone Fire Management Officer Ed Hiatt. “But we encourage homeowners living in the wildland-urban interface to continue to fireproof their private property.”