Arizona Emergency Information Network
The Maricopa County Air Quality Department has declared a No Burn Day for Thursday, March 6
The Maricopa County Air Quality Department has declared a No Burn Day for Thursday, March 6 due to elevated levels of PM10 (dust).
Take Action
- Eliminate wood burning in fireplaces, stoves, chimeneas, and outdoor fire pits.
- Convert your wood burning fireplace to natural gas or propane. Check if you are eligible to receive up to $2,000 to upgrade your fireplace to natural gas by visiting Maricopa.gov/AQ.
- Avoid using leaf blowers. Use a rake or broom to keep debris out of the road and away from storm drains, ditches, and streams.
- Use electric lawn and garden equipment. Check if you are eligible to receive up to $200 to replace gasoline powered lawn equipment by visiting Maricopa.gov/AQ.
- Reduce your wait time in long drive-thru lines. Park your vehicle and walk inside at coffee shops, fast-food restaurants, curbside pick-up, and banks.
- Fuel your vehicle after dark or during cooler evening hours.
- Use low-VOC (volatile organic compound) or water-based paints, stains, finishes, and paint strippers.
- Properly seal household cleaners, garage and yard chemicals, and other solvents to prevent vapors from evaporating into the air.
No Burn Day Restrictions
- Wood burning in residential fireplaces, chimeneas, outdoor fire pits, and similar outdoor fires is prohibited in Maricopa County. This includes individuals and businesses which have burn permits for open burning.
- Employees and contractors of government entities are prohibited from operating leaf blowers. Residents are encouraged to avoid leaf blowing.
- Off-road vehicles are prohibited from being used.
Regulated Businesses
Businesses conducting dust-generating operations must be vigilant of their dust control measures. Workers may need to cease operating, after stabilizing disturbed areas, if water application and other dust control measures prove ineffective.
PM10 is coarse particulate matter less than 10 micrometers in diameter that are generally emitted from sources such as vehicles traveling on unpaved roads, materials handling, and crushing and grinding operations, as well as windblown.
PM2.5 is fine particulate matter less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter that result from fuel combustion from motor vehicles, power generation, and industrial facilities, as well as from residential fireplaces and wood stoves.
*/ /*-->*/ Source Maricopa County Air Quality Department March 6, 2025 - 09:35am Keyword No Burn Day Maricopa County Maricopa County Air Quality Department burn restrictions PM10 dust PM2.5 pollutionPile Burning Planned in the Prescott Basin on the Bradshaw Ranger District
Fire managers on the Prescott National Forest, Bradshaw Ranger District plan to burn piles of debris in and around the Prescott Basin. Ignitions are planned to start on Friday, March 7, and continue through March 31 as favorable weather conditions allow. Fire managers expect smoke impacts to be light and visible from multiple locations including Prescott, Chino Valley, and surrounding areas.
In the interest of safety, forest visitors are reminded to obey all traffic signs and use caution when traveling in the vicinity of the pile burns as firefighters and fire-related traffic will be in the area.
The purpose of this project is to reduce hazardous fuels in the wildland urban interface and increase ecosystem and community resilience following thinning and fuelwood removal activities. Reducing hazardous fuels helps reduce the threat of future high-severity, high-intensity wildfires.
All prescribed fire activity is dependent on several different factors which fire managers closely monitor prior to and during implementation. These factors include availability of personnel and equipment, weather, fuels and conditions that minimize smoke impacts as much as possible, and approval from the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (www.azdeq.gov).
For fire information please call Prescott National Forest at (928)443 8000; or stay up to date on Prescott National Forest news by checking the Prescott NF website and following us on Facebook and X.
*/ /*-->*/ Source Prescott National Forest March 5, 2025 - 03:30pm Keyword Prescott National Forest pile burns Bradshaw Ranger District wildfire prevention fuel reduction smoke impacts Prescribed Fire ecosystem resilience hazardous fuels fire mitigationPile burns planned Wednesday, and Thursday
Coconino National Forest fire managers with the Flagstaff Ranger District plan to conduct pile burns today and tomorrow in several areas around the forest to take advantage of favorable weather conditions.
The piles to be burned are leftover slash from previous thinning projects and are ignited using drip torches and carefully monitored. Burning these piles help remove forest fuels and reduce the chance of catastrophic wildfire.
Smoke will be noticeable to people in the immediate areas of these pile burns, and impacts may be felt during the day in areas north/northeast of the piles due to the general wind direction coming from the southwest. In evening hours, smoke impacts will be felt in areas adjacent to the pile burns, as smoke tends to settle and flow like water to lower areas of elevation.
The following pile burns are planned for today, March 5:
- Aspen Walker Lake piles: located 14.5 miles northwest of Flagstaff.
- Fern Mountain piles: located 12.5 miles northwest of Flagstaff, near Hart Prairie Preserve.
- Hochderffer Aspen piles: located 14 miles northwest of Flagstaff, northeast of Arizona Nordic Village.
The following pile burns are planned for tomorrow, March 6:
- Mormon Lake Work Center piles: located at the Coconino NF Mormon Lake Work Center off Lake Mary Road, just south of Bennett Estates.
- Naval Observatory piles: located 4 miles west of Flagstaff and north of the Naval Observatory.
- Peaks Admin piles: located behind the Flagstaff Ranger Station across from the Flagstaff Mall.
- Pine Grove Admin piles: located 15 miles southeast of the Flagstaff, adjacent to Pine Grove Campground.
Areas of County Within Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest to Enter Stage 1 Fire Restrictions Friday
After consultation with Coconino County Emergency Management (CCEM), Forest Lakes Fire District, and the United States Forest Service (USFS), areas of Coconino County within the boundaries of the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest will enter Stage 1 Fire Restrictions at 8 a.m. Friday, February 28, 2025.
This decision, per Coconino County’s Wildfire Defense Ordinance, follows similar Stage 1 fire restrictions enacted by USFS, Navajo County, and Apache County and will apply to all private property within the boundaries of the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest. This includes the unincorporated community of Forest Lakes and all private campgrounds and recreation areas.
“Coconino County implements fire restrictions to help prevent unwanted, human-caused fires. CCEM continues to work closely with our fire mitigation partners at the federal, state, and local levels to determine if fire restrictions are needed, and if so, to what extent,” said Tim Carter, acting Emergency Management Director. “In coordination with the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests’ decision to enter Stage 1 restrictions, Coconino County will also enact Stage 1 restrictions for all private lands within the boundaries of the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest in southeastern Coconino County.”
Under the County’s Stage 1 restrictions igniting, building, or maintaining a fire fueled by combustible materials such as wood, charcoal, briquettes, and/or coal is strictly prohibited, except within a developed recreation site. Smoking is also prohibited, except within an enclosed vehicle, building, or a developed recreation site. The use of tracer or incendiary rounds of ammunition or explosive targets is also strictly prohibited. Fireworks are always prohibited on all National Forest and State lands.
Using a device that is solely fueled by pressurized liquid petroleum or LPG fuels that can be turned on and off is allowed only in a developed recreation site. A developed recreation site is defined in the County’s Wildfire Defense Ordinance as an area that is barren or cleared of all overhead and surrounding flammable materials within 15 feet of the device.
“Wildfire mitigation is the responsibility of all of us,” added Carter. “Now is a great time to improve defensible space around structures, clear pine needles and debris, and never leave fires unattended.”
For information on Coconino County’s Stage 1, 2, and 3 fire restrictions please visit: www.coconino.az.gov/firerestrictions.
Additional information about the stages of fire restrictions, Forest Orders, and general forest conditions are available for the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest are available here: www.fs.usda.gov/asnf
*/ /*-->*/ Source Coconino County February 27, 2025 - 05:05pm Keyword Stage 1 fire restrictions Coconino County wildfire prevention Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest fire mitigation burn ban defensible space fire safety emergency management recreation sites.
Fuels projects support wildfire risk reduction underway in Yavapai County
The Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management (DFFM) continues its ongoing efforts to protect Arizona’s residents and critical infrastructure with two fuels reduction projects in Yavapai County.
Ruger Ranch Phase 2
The 2,500-acre Ruger Ranch Phase 2 fuels reduction project spans north of Peeples Valley, southwest of Kirkland Junction, and west of SR 89.
The project, located on State Trust land, involves mastication work to reduce dense Chaparral within the large-scale treatment area. DFFM Foresters developed the project to protect Yavapai County’s rural communities of Kirkland, Peeples Valley, and Skull Valley from catastrophic wildfires.
Project work is expected to be completed by July 2025 pending no delays due to weather or fire restrictions. Residents in the Ruger Ranch area should expect to see contractor traffic near Ruger and Sorrells Roads, off SR 89.
Granite Oaks Phase 2
This 960-acre project is currently underway 9 miles northwest of Prescott and 2.5 miles southeast of the Williamson community.
Project goals include, reducing the connectivity of dense and hazardous fuels within the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) through mastication work. Masticators are heavy pieces of equipment used to break apart and chip vegetation such as shrubs and small woody trees. Mastication helps break up fuel continuity which decreases fire spread and reduces a fire’s intensity.
Granite Oaks is a strategically designed project which provides wildland firefighters safer and more manageable fire suppression operations and ultimately, reduces the threat of high intensity fire burning through the area. Project operations take place on State Trust land parcels north and east of the community of Granite Oaks and will complement previous fuels mitigation efforts that border the Granite Oaks community.
There are no road closures associated with this project, but area residents should be mindful of heavy equipment traveling the roads.
The project is expected to be completed by December 2025 pending delays for fire restrictions, fire activity, or weather.
Ruger Ranch Phase 2 and Granite Oaks Phase 2 projects are just two of many hazardous fuels reduction projects for the agency that fall within DFFM’s prioritized objectives and mission to protect neighborhoods and communities from wildfire, improve the health of Arizona’s native vegetation and forests, and safeguard critical infrastructure.
Follow us on Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/arizonaforestry
Follow us on Twitter – https://x.com/azstateforestry
Download or mobile phone application – https://www.apexmobile.net/app/azdffm/
For more information, contact Tiffany Davila at 602-540-1036 or by email at [email protected].
