WILLIAMS — Kaibab National Forest fire managers are planning to conduct a prescribed fire near the Williams starting Wednesday, April 20 and continuing through the week, pending favorable weather conditions. The Three Sisters Prescribed Fire Project is located just north of Interstate 40, the City of Williams, and Kaibab Lake Campground, west of State Route 64.
Crews are aiming to treat up to 2500 acres total, burning 400 to 1000-acre units at a time. They will start at the northeast end of the project area between Forest Road 796 (Pipeline Rd) and Kaibab Lake, working their way west and south. Area residents can expect to see and hear a helicopter in the area, as fire managers plan to conduct aerial ignitions on portions of the burn.
By planning this project now, fire managers can take advantage of the forecast for cooler temperatures, higher humidity and favorable winds. In advance of operations, crews identified and prepared various features that they’ll utilize during their burn such as existing roads, dozer lines, and open spaces and natural breaks surrounding and throughout the units. Ignitions are scheduled to begin early in the day to allow most of the smoke to disperse before nightfall. Firefighters will remain on site through the night monitoring fire and smoke behavior.
Smoke will be highly noticeable from Interstate 40, State Route 64, H.A. Clark Memorial Field airport, Kaibab Lake, Valle, Parks, and the City of Williams. During the day, smoke will disperse northeast away from the city, and the continued breezes overnight will help minimize the amount of residual smoke that settles in low-lying areas around the community.
No closures are planned as part of this project. However, motorists are reminded to slow down and drive with heightened awareness when in the vicinity of active project areas.
Prescribed fires like the Three Sisters Project are part of the Forest Service’s comprehensive 10-year strategy for protecting communities and improving resilience in America’s forests. The intent of the Wildfire Management Strategy is to increase fuels treatments that help firefighters respond safely to incidents, restore and maintain resilient landscapes, and create fire-adapted communities. The plan calls for treating up to an additional 20 million acres of National Forest System lands, and up to an additional 30 million acres of other federal, state, tribal and private lands.