7 July 2014, Azdailysun news - Due to significant and widespread rain and rapidly decreasing fire danger, the Coconino and Kaibab National Forests in northern Arizona will lift all fire restrictions at 8 a.m. on Tuesday. The restrictions included a ban on all campfires, smoking outside building and vehicles, target shooting and daytime chainsaw use.
Managers typically lift fire restrictions when at least a half inch of precipitation has been received over more than two-thirds of the forests. To date, many areas of both forests have received double that amount of precipitation, with an inch or more of rain being reported in many locations. Fire danger has decreased dramatically from "extreme" last week to "moderate" today.
In addition to lifting all fire restrictions, the Kaibab National Forest will also reopen the Bill Williams Mountain Watershed on the Williams Ranger District tomorrow morning, which had been closed to public entry due to wildfire risk. The Coconino National Forest is evaluating conditions in Fossil Creek and will make a determination later this week about the appropriate time to reopen the area.
The two forests initially implemented campfire and smoking restrictions on April 18. This was relatively early but was necessary due to a dry winter and impacts of long-term drought on the forests. Additional fire restrictions and area closures were implemented as the forests faced increasing levels of fire danger through the spring and summer.
