Posted by : Tiffany Davila  On February 2nd, 2026 11:45 am

      

Flagstaff, AZ (2/2/2026) – The Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management (DFFM) plans to conduct prescribed fire operations across Coconino County between February and March, with a goal of treating more than 12,000 acres to reduce wildfire risk and improve forest health.

Cataract Prescribed Fire:

The Cataract RX is a 2,000-acre broadcast burn across State Trust and private lands, located west of the Kaibab National Forest’s Tusayan Ranger District, south and west of the Grand Canyon National Park, east and south of Havasupai, and north of Forest Road 347 (Anita Road). Project objectives include reducing overgrown sagebrush and dead and downed vegetation. Firing operations are planned for Wednesday, February 4, with project work expected to take three days, weather permitting. Northeasterly winds should help minimize smoke impacts to the Tusayan Airport.

 

Raymond Prescribed Fire:

The Raymond RX is a 534-acre broadcast burn on Arizona Game and Fish Department lands, located 25 miles southeast of Flagstaff and approximately five miles south of Interstate 40. Project objectives include wildfire risk reduction and buffalo habitat improvement.

 

Babbitt Prescribed Fire:

The Babbitt RX is a 10,000-acre broadcast burn on State Trust and private lands north of Highway 180, east of Valle, and south of the Kaibab National Forest’s Tusayan Ranger District. Due to the size of this project, prescribed fire managers expect operations to take a minimum of seven days.

 

Implementation dates for the Raymond RX and Babbitt RX projects will be determined following completion of the Cataract project and will depend on favorable weather conditions to ensure firefighter and public safety and successful achievement of project objectives.

 

Prescribed fire projects support multiple purposes, including reducing the risk of catastrophic wildfire, protecting communities, improving forest health, restoring soil nutrients, and safeguarding watersheds and other critical infrastructure. Each of these burn plans incorporate the strategic use of hand ignitions to meet these objectives. DFFM works closely with the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality to mitigate any potential long-term smoke impacts.

 

Additional project work notifications can be found on the DFFM Facebook and X pages along with Nextdoor. For more information, contact Tiffany Davila at 602-540-1036 or by email at tdavila@dffm.az.gov.

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