Category Archives: Flagstaff

Tunnel Fire grows to 6,000 acres, prompts evacuations

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FLAGSTAFF — At zero containment, the Tunnel Fire located 14 miles northeast of Flagstaff has grown substantially due to high winds and spread toward the northeast at high rate, eventually moving across U.S. Highway 89.

Fire managers currently estimate the fire to be approximately 6,000 acres, and more than 200 firefighters and personnel are currently assigned to the fire.

Area evacuations have been ordered, and up-to-date evacuation information can be found via the Coconino County Tunnel Fire page. Evacuees can also call the Coconino County Emergency Call Center at 928-679-8525. Coconino County Supervisors have declared a State of Emergency and are awaiting the signature of the Governor.

Structures threatened include the community in Doney Park near the fire, and we cannot confirm as of this news release whether or not any homes have been destroyed.

Current firefighting resources include five handcrews, 15 engines, and three dozers. Air tankers were ordered earlier this afternoon to aid in the firefight but were diverted due to high winds that surpassed wind thresholds for air resource purposes. Partner agencies such as Flagstaff Fire Department, Summit FD, Highlands FD, and state crews have also aided in intial and continued response.

A Type I Incident Management Team has been ordered and personnel, assets and resources from the team will arrive over the next two days.

U.S Highway 89 is closed between mileposts 425-435, so motorists traveling toward Page will need to find an alternate route.

Coconino County Sheriff’s office orders evacuations

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FLAGSTAFF – On April 19th, 2022, at 1100 hours the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office began evacuation operations in
the Timberline – Fernwood areas north of Flagstaff along Hwy 89.

The Sheriff’s Office was advised by the United States Forest Service at approximately 8:00 am that the Tunnel Fire had jumped the fire line and was threatening the Timberline – Fernwood Area. The Sheriff’s Office began preparation in anticipation of a “GO” order from the Forest Service.

At approximately 11:00 am a “GO “order was given, and evacuations began. Over 200 hundred homes are threatened at this time. Closure areas are East side of 89 is Campbell rd. to Sunset Crater, West side of the 89 is Summit Fire Station #33 to Sunset Crater.

A shelter is set up at Sinagua Middle School for those effected by the evacuations. The Coconino Humane Society is available for evacuated large and small animals.

We will update as information is made available.

If you are unsure about an evacuation notice or feel it maybe a scam, please contact your local law enforcement agency to confirm the location of any Evacuation stage or Set stage areas, please call the non-emergency numbers for the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office (928) 774-4523 and Flagstaff Police Department (928) 774-4114 and report any suspicious calls.

If you receive what you believe to be a fraudulent call to evacuate or any other suspicious call, it is important to provide as much information as possible when reporting this activity. This includes not only phone numbers from which calls are received but also names (even if names appear to be fake), email addresses, web domains, times/dates of contacts, etc.

Tunnel Fire located north of Flagstaff

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FLAGSTAFF — The Tunnel Fire, located north of Flagstaff along Highway 89 (35°18’14.4″N 111°35’20.4″W) is at 100-plus acres and 0 percent containment.

Fire is rapidly spreading in a northeast direction due to high winds with medium-to-high-range spotting occurring in timber and grass.

The area around Moon Crater and all areas north of Campbell East and West of highway 89 to Sunset Crater are ordered to evacuate. The Antelope Hills area east of Highway 89 is to prepare for evacuation. The Red Cross Evacuation Center is at Sinagua Middle School, 3950 E Butler Ave, Flagstaff, AZ 86004. Animals are not allowed in the evacuation center and must be taken to the Coconino Humane Association. Updated evacuation events can be found here.

While closure orders have not yet been issued, the public is asked to avoid the northern portion of U.S.Highway 89 from Elden Springs Road to the forest boundary for safety.

Resources on scene include three Type 1 handcrews, two dozers, two water tankers and seven engines.

The fire was reported at 4:22 p.m. on Sunday and its cause is under investigation.

Police investigate homicide in Flagstaff

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FLAGSTAFF –- On March 20th, 2022, at approximately 1:00 AM, Police responded to 2 N. Leroux, Collins Irish Bar for a report of a large crowd physically fighting which turned into a shooting.

When they arrived, officers located a subject in the street who had been shot. The victim was later identified as 26-year-old Frankie James Jackson, of Flagstaff.

The shooter was taken into custody and identified as 26-year-old Treysean Michael Anthony Ware of Flagstaff. Witnesses indicated that an altercation between Treysean and Frankie took place outside of Collin’s where Treysean pulled a gun on Frankie and shot him twice. Frankie was transported to the Flagstaff Medical Center Emergency where he later succumbed to his injuries.

Treysean has been arrested on charges of 2nd Degree Homicide, Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon, Disorderly Conduct with a Weapon and drug charges. This investigation is ongoing; however we are not actively seeking any additional suspects. There were no additional injuries reported in this altercation.

Fatal Pedestrian Accident in Flagstaff

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FLAGSTAFF — On March 17, 2022, at approximately 11:01 p.m., Flagstaff Police responded to the 3400 block of E. Route 66 regarding a collision involving a vehicle and pedestrian. Upon arrival officers located a male in the roadway with serious head injuries and began providing emergency medical aid until medical personnel arrived. The male was transported to the Flagstaff Medical Center for continuing emergency care and was pronounced deceased. The decedent is identified as Riley Belone, 45, of Flagstaff.

Flagstaff Police Collision Reconstruction investigators were called to the scene for investigative and evidence collection purposes. Investigators learned the vehicle was traveling eastbound on E Route 66 behind an uninvolved vehicle in the curb lane when they observed the vehicle in the curb lane take evasive action to avoid an obstruction in the roadway, which was determined to be Mr. Belone. The driver involved in the crash reported changing lanes to the left lane and was unable to avoid striking Mr. Belone as he was in the left lane. Information provided on scene indicates Mr. Belone was crossing E. Route 66 from the south sidewalk just east of the N Park Drive intersection when he was struck in the left travel lane. The driver of the vehicle involved in the crash remained on scene and was cooperative during the initial investigation.

This fatal collision is currently under investigation as investigators work to determine if speed or any other factors contributed to the cause of the collision.

US 93 widening, SR 89A improvements among northern Arizona highway projects starting this year

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FLAGSTAFF – Expect additional highway improvements in northern Arizona this year as the Arizona Department of Transportation prepares to kick off projects along northern Arizona highways in 2022.

Among the most significant projects is the widening of US 93 just north of Wickenburg. The project will widen US 93 to a four-lane divided highway between Tegner Street and Wickenburg Ranch Way. This project is anticipated to be advertised this spring with construction anticipated to start before the end of the year. This continues ADOT’s decades-long effort to convert the entire stretch of US 93 from Wickenburg to the Nevada state line to a divided highway, improving safety.

Starting this year, ADOT will improve safety along SR 89A in Oak Creek Canyon by combining three projects into one in order to better coordinate traffic impacts. These projects include rockfall mitigation, erosion control and rehabilitating the Pumphouse Wash Bridge. Drivers can expect restrictions and closures over the life of the project. ADOT will keep stakeholders informed of upcoming restrictions as we work to improve SR 89A.

In the spring, ADOT will start a bridge improvement project on the Interstate 40 A-1 Mountain interchange in Flagstaff. Crews will replace the bridge thereby extending the life of the interchange for the local community. A 40-day closure of A-1 Mountain Road over I-40 is scheduled for later this year as part of the project. ADOT will maintain access to the north of I-40 through detours and send notification in advance along with detour route information.

Later this year, ADOT will administer a long-awaited local project to build a traffic interchange at I-40 and Rancho Santa Fe Parkway in Kingman. The interchange will provide local access, accommodate current and future growth in east Kingman and alleviate congestion at the Andy Devine Avenue exit.

Southbound I-17 south of Flagstaff will receive new pavement this year undoing years of damage from winter weather. The project to replace pavement will stretch from Flagstaff south to milepost 312 at the Coconino County line. This same section of highway in the northbound direction was repaved a few years ago.

Also, crews will return to complete the following projects that started last year:

  • The replacement of I-40 bridges over Business 40 in west Flagstaff
  • Paving of 10 miles on I-40 between I-17 and Walnut Canyon Road in east Flagstaff
  • Paving of 11 miles of US 60 and SR 260 in Show Low
  • The replacement of I-40 bridges at Pineveta Draw near Ash Fork

Crews will also continue installing fiber optic conduit along I-17 south of Flagstaff to bring broadband internet to rural Arizona communities. A new project placing conduit from the McGuireville Rest Area south to the community of Anthem will begin this year.

Free-use fuelwood available near Schultz Pass

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FLAGSTAFF — The Coconino National Forest is currently offering free-use fuelwood in an area near Schultz Pass, as part of the leftover slash and woody material from previous timber operations.
The fuelwood piles consist of various lengths and sizes of wood, so caution is greatly advised when collecting. The staging areas consists of loosely packed dirt and may become muddy and rutted with precipitation, so high clearance 4-wheel-drive vehicles are recommended.

Free-use permits can be obtained by calling the Flagstaff Ranger Station at 928-526-0866. The free permits allow the cutting of up to five cords of down and dead wood in specified areas for no charge. A maximum of five cords per household per year is allowed under free use.

The Coconino National Forest provides firewood for personal use both on a free-use permit and paid permit basis. Both cases require a permit acquired by anyone harvesting firewood on the National Forest.

The free-use area map displays the location, which is in the Schultz Pass area on Forest Service Road 420 near the junction of FR 420 and 556.

Directions to access free-use area
There are two routes possible:

  1. From U.S. Highway 180, head east on E. Mount Elden Lookout Road (Forest Road 557) and proceed up Schultz Pass Road (FR 420) for approximately 5 miles and continue past the junction of Elden Springs Road (FR 556). Just past the junction you will see a road veering off of FR 420 toward the large piles of wood. This is the area.
  2. From U.S. Highway 89, head west on Elden Springs Road (FR 556) for approximately 4.5 miles until you reach the junction of Schultz Pass Road (FR 420). Take a right on FR 420 and follow it for approximately 100 yards, where a road veers off of FR 420 toward the large piles of wood. This is the slash area.

The Coconino County Detention Facility Updated Court Commitment Schedule

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Flagstaff — The Coconino County Detention Facility started allowing individuals convicted and sentenced to serve jail time in Coconino County to self-surrender on April 4th. The Detention Facility had suspended the acceptance of court commitments when the COVID-19 Pandemic began as one way to keep the jail population down and keeping non-violent offenders out of jail to help mitigate the COVID-19 Virus from entering and spreading through the facility. Most jails in the state also implemented similar suspensions for the same reasons.

The acceptance of individuals to serve the obligated court commitment will continue to happen on a scheduled basis but we are lifting the daily cap of only 5-Court Commits.

The schedule will continue be done alphabetically by the first letter of the individual’s last name. Based on last name, individuals will have a seven-day period each month to be able to self-surrender to serve the imposed jail sentence. This schedule will remain until further notice and can be modified by the Sheriff’s Office if needed. Both the Flagstaff Detention Facility and the Page Temporary Holding Facility will follow the updated schedule which is listed at the end of this media release.

All other restrictions and suspensions will remain in place. Those continued restrictions and suspensions can be found in our multiple media releases that have gone out and are available on our Sheriff’s Office website and Facebook page.

The Sheriff’s Office will continue to stay up to date on the best practices and current available information and will adjust procedures as is necessary and appropriate.

Updated Self-Surrender Court Commit Schedule by last name.

A-H

OCTOBER 10, 2021 – OCTOBER 16, 2021
OCTOBER 31, 2021 – NOVEMBER 6, 2021
NOVEMBER 21, 2021 – NOVEMBER 27, 2021
DECEMBER 12, 2021 – DECEMBER 18, 2021
JANUARY 2, 2022 – JANUARY 8, 2022
JANUARY 23, 2022 – JANUARY 29, 2022
FEBRUARY 13, 2022 – FEBRUARY 19, 2022
MARCH 6, 2022 – MARCH 12, 2022

I-P

SEPTEMBER 26, 2021 – OCTOBER 2, 2021
OCTOBER 17, 2021 – OCTOBER 23, 2021
NOVEMBER 7, 2021 – NOVEMBER 13, 2021
NOVEMBER 28, 2021 – DECEMBER 4, 2021
DECEMBER 19, 2021 – DECEMBER 25, 2021
JANUARY 9, 2022 – JANUARY 15, 2022
JANUARY 30, 2022 – FEBRUARY 5, 2022
FEBRUARY 20, 2022 – FEBRUARY 26, 2022
MARCH 13, 2022 – MARCH 19, 2022

Q-Z

OCTOBER 3, 2021 – OCTOBER 9, 2021
OCTOBER 24, 2021 – OCTOBER 30, 2021
NOVEMBER 14, 2021 – NOVEMBER 20, 2021
DECEMBER 5, 2021 – DECEMBER 11, 2021
DECEMBER 26, 2021 – JANUARY 1, 2022
JANUARY 16, 2022 – JANUARY 22, 2022
FEBRUARY 6, 2022 – FEBRUARY 12, 2022
FEBRUARY 27, 2022 – MARCH 5, 2022
MARCH 20, 2022 – MARCH 26, 2022

Heavy rains may produce flash floods

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WILLIAMS — Heavy rains and thunderstorms over the next couple of days could cause flash floods. A flash flood watch is set for portions of northern and central Arizona from 11 a.m. today through late Wednesday. Particularly vulnerable are areas of recent fires damage such as the are of the Museum Fire that has experienced problems already. Other areas include Coconino Plateau, Mogollon Rim, White Mountains, Oak Creek and Sycamore Canyons and Ash Fork.

Showers and thunderstorms are expected to increase today and continue at times through Wednesday. Some of these storms will be capable of producing 1- to 2-inches of rain in less than an hour, leading to flash flooding. Burn scars and low water crossings are especially vulnerable to flooding.

Showers and thunderstorms are expected to continue through Labor Day.

Coconino County Returns to Face Mask Requirement in County Buildings

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FLAGSTAFF – Based on current data and updated guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Coconino County Health and Human Services (CCHHS) recommends residents wear masks in indoor public places. In line with this recommendation, Coconino County will reinstate mask requirements in all county buildings effective Wednesday, August 4, at 8 a.m.

On July 27th, the CDC updated its COVID-19 guidance for fully vaccinated people, recommending everyone wear a mask in indoor public settings in geographic areas with substantial and high transmission, regardless of vaccination status. Coconino County COVID-19 case numbers have followed an upward trajectory over the past several weeks and the county is currently in “high” COVID-19 transmission.

“Vaccination is the path out of this pandemic, and is the best way to protect you, your family, and your community. We are in a race against time to increase vaccination coverage and stop other variants from developing. Unvaccinated individuals should get vaccinated as soon as they are eligible. And while we are in substantial or high transmission, both the vaccinated and unvaccinated should wear a mask in public indoor settings to help prevent the spread of Delta and protect others,” said CCHHS Director Kim Musselman.

The CDC masking decision was made considering data demonstrating that the Delta variant of COVID-19 infection is nearly twice as infectious as previous variants. While virtually all hospitalizations and deaths continue to be among the unvaccinated, some vaccinated people can get Delta in breakthrough infection and may be contagious.

The masking recommendation was updated to ensure the vaccinated public would not unknowingly transmit the virus to others, including those not yet eligible for vaccine, such as young children, or immunocompromised loved ones. Data demonstrate that the vaccines are preventing severe illness, hospitalization, and death and are effective against the Delta variant.

In alignment with the CDC guidance, the County is requiring face masks be worn by employees and the public while in county buildings to protect customer and employee health and safety.

 Effective Wednesday, August 4, county employees and visitors shall wear masks in public and common areas of all county buildings. Masks will be provided when needed as supplies allow.
 County employees shall practice COVID-19 prevention practices including proper hand washing and physical distancing