Pile burn activity continues near North Rim, Jacob Lake and DeMotte campground

FREDONIA, Ariz. — North Zone fire managers plan to continue pile burning activity in the vicinity of the North Rim Developed Area, which consists of two, 16-acre units of hand piles. Pending favorable weather conditions, ignitions could begin as early as next week. As a reminder, the North Rim and Arizona Highway 67 are closed for the season and will re-open this spring.

Within the last three weeks, crews have accomplished an estimated 1,000 acres of mixed mechanical and hand pile prescribed burning in the vicinity of Jacob Lake and DeMotte. All three locations will remain a priority as conditions allow.

As a reminder, all prescribed fire activity is dependent on the availability of personnel and equipment, weather and fuel conditions, including winds, temperature, humidity, vegetation moisture and ventilation conditions for dispersal of smoke. All prescribed fires are subject to approval by the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality. More information about the Smoke Management Division and prescribed burn authorizations can be found at http://www.azdeq.gov/programs/air-quality-programs/smoke-management.

In the interest of safety, visitors are reminded to always use caution when traveling in the vicinity of prescribed fires, as firefighters, fire-related traffic, and smoke may all be present. Although no significant smoke impacts are expected, visitors should always be cautious when driving in the vicinity of emergency vehicles operating in the area.

As the prescribed burn season continues through the spring, information about the North Zone Interagency Fire Management Program’s operations will be made available through the following resources: Fire Information Recorded Hotline: 928-635-8311; Twitter: www.twitter.com/KaibabNF (Text ‘follow kaibabnf’ to 40404 to receive text messages.); Kaibab website: www.fs.usda.gov/kaibab and Grand Canyon National Park website: https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/management/fire_info.htm.