Fire managers across northern Arizona are taking advantage of the unusually wet spring conditions to use fire to improve forest health. They employ some of these methods at volunteer fires in the Coconino National Forest, west of Flagstaff.

On Friday, the crew was tempering within the fire boundary on the south side of Garland Prairie. This is an area that hasn’t burned in nearly 100 years, and is thick with fallen logs, grass, and pine needles. Managers hope to reduce these fuels and provide fire buffers for nearby communities and the adjacent Camp Navajo Army National Guard base. They’re also trying to improve the habitat of the endangered Mexican barred owl on nearby Mount Mooney.

“For us, this year, given the humidity we’ve had, we have a great opportunity to work with the landscape and achieve some of the goals that we weren’t able to achieve due to the coronavirus. It’s a drier time. said Lake Mormon Hot Shots Superintendent Sarah Sweeney, who was the incident commander for the wildfires.

The Volunteer Fire was originally reported two weeks ago on just one acre within the scars of the 2021 Rafael Fire. But after Operation Burnout, it grew much larger, even though management intended to keep it on the larger 3,580-acre site. An additional 1,800 acres are scheduled to be ignited in the next few days, creating smoke that could affect Flagstaff. This is one of several regulated and controlled wildfires currently occurring in the region.