WILLIAMS — The first stage of the 300 acre steep slope fuels reduction efforts on the Bill Williams Mountain Restoration Project is underway on the Williams Ranger District of the Kaibab National Forest. A helicopter will begin the technical work of hauling material off the mountain from the elevated areas that are inaccessible by ground or other conventional methods.
Sawyers from Markit! Forestry Management have been on the mountainside cutting and bundling woody material in preparation for the removal of hazardous fuels from the most difficult terrain on the highest slopes of the mountain. A long cable suspended below the helicopter is attached to the bundled material which is then flown to a lower site where processing and loading will take place before the material is eventually transported off the mountain by trucks. There will be a noticeable increase in traffic within city limits as hauling vehicles begin transporting material out of Williams.
Helicopters will be noticeable to residents and businesses in and around the City of Williams both audibly and visually. Aerial logging will be occurring seven days a week during daylight hours providing weather conditions are conducive for safe operations.
Due to the hazardous nature of the technical work involving aircraft, a Temporary Area Closure Order (http://bit.ly/BillWmMtn-TempClosure) has been put in effect on a portion of Bill Williams Mountain. Forest users and members of the public are asked to avoid travelling through or entering into the closure area until the order is rescinded. Specific information about trails, roads and areas within the closure can be found by going to the link above.
Project managers are hopeful to complete this first stage of fuels removal by late December of this year. There are approximately 900 additional acres on the steep slopes that will be targeted for treatment as the next phases of this project move forward.
Officials from the National Forest Foundation (NFF), Coconino County, and the Kaibab National Forest have been working together to implement the restoration project. The NFF brought together funds from multiple contributors that include $1,800,000 from the Kaibab National Forest, $800,000 from Coconino County, private funds from the Sperling Foundation, and a state grant from the Arizona Department of Water Resources to provide better protection and long term sustainability of critical resources that are vital to the City of Williams.
Officials understand that impacts to air quality may be unpleasant at times, however they can significantly reduce the amount and limit the duration of smoke more effectively using prescribed methods as opposed to an uncontrolled wildfire situation. To learn more about smoke and public health, visit bit.ly/SmokeHealthAwareness.