Four Of The Five Northern Arizona National Forests Decide To Go Into Full Closure

Two Northern Arizona national forests are closed and two more will close by the end of the week due to public safety and strained wildland firefighting. The Prescott National Forest announced Wednesday they will be closing down Friday morning at 8 a.m. That follows the Coconino and Kaibab national forests, who fully closed Wednesday morning and the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest, which closed Thursday morning. The Tonto National Forest will go into a Stage Three closure Friday morning. Coconino County is now in Stage Three fire restrictions, which prohibits the use of open fire, campfires, fireworks and combustion equipment unless you have a permit or you are a federal, state or local officer who is on duty. Flagstaff is in Stage Four fire restrictions, which prohibits the use of any outdoor grill, regardless of type. Also all entrances into the Coconino National Forest, including FUTS trails, are closed.