Fire Crews Team-Up on Thinning Project off J.W. Powell Blvd

For Immediate Release

Date: December 11, 2008

Contact: Supervisor's Office - 928-527-3600

Flagstaff, AZ — Forest thinning activities have begun on the Airport Project, along the north side of John Wesley Powell Blvd, the east side of Lake Mary Road, and adjacent to Pinnacle Pines and Bow and Arrow subdivisions. The work is being conducted cooperatively by the Forest Service, Flagstaff Fire Department, Summit Fire Department, Highlands Fire Department, and Pinewood Fire Department. 

Throughout the winter, crews will be working intermittently in the area, as weather and crew availability allow.  Reducing the thick vegetation increases forest health and reduces fire hazard to the forest and nearby neighborhoods. 

Recognizing the value of interagency collaboration during fire suppression activities, crews recently began applying the concept to fire prevention.  The various agencies share a common goal: protecting the communities and the surrounding landscape, and they plan to continue collaborating on future Fuel Reduction and Forest Health projects in the Flagstaff area.  In their continuing partnership, crews intend to explore opportunities to increase efficiency and expediency of thinning and prescribed burning with aims to reduce impacts to the community.

For more information on the interagency fuel reduction partnership, or their work at the Airport Project, contact the Peaks Ranger Station, 928-526-0866 or your local fire department.