Coconino National Forest $4.2M restoration project targets wildfire and flood risks near Flagstaff

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. - Crews are busy in the Coconino National Forest on a multi-million dollar project near Flagstaff, aiming to cut down the risk of wildfire and flash flooding, one deadened tree at a time.

The Project:

In the San Francisco Peaks, the Leroux East Forest Restoration Project is well underway. By the end of the fall, crews will have worked through 600 acres at a $4.2 million price tag, but it could prevent billions of dollars if catastrophic flooding were to happen there.

The backstory:

Coconino County is no stranger to wildfires and post-wildfire flooding, with dozens of structures lost just four years ago in the Tunnel and Pipeline wildfires. An NAU study found the risk for catastrophic weather events is still there, particularly in the Upper Rio de Flag watershed, just north of Flagstaff.

"We could get flooding not just in the neighborhoods directly down the hill from here, but it could go all the way into downtown Flagstaff," Coconino County Board of Supervisors Chair Patrice Horstman said. "Besides obviously a threat to life and the destruction of property, they estimate anywhere from $500 million to $2.8 billion of economic loss."

The Removal Process:

The solution is a project taking place across 1,500 acres to the west and east of Snowbowl Road. U.S. Forest Service representatives say this project will not remove the area's iconic aspens, as preserving the natural landscape was an important consideration in the planning process.

"Rather than thinking of logging as removing a lot of trees, this is less the removal of live trees, and it's more removing dead and downed fuel on the ground," Coconino National Forest Flagstaff District Ranger Matt McGrath said. "If we were to have a fire in this area, we'd have less fuels on the ground which would result in lower severity fire, it would last on the landscape a shorter amount of time, it'd be less likely to burn the soils and less likely to lead to severe post-fire flooding."

Reducing Fire Risks:

Mitigation efforts like this also aim to show insurance companies that the county and its residents are being Firewise.

"We feel that the more we reduce and mitigate risk for catastrophic wildfire, it should make a very big difference in terms of insurance premiums," Horstman said.

Protecting the Community:

Leaders say the heart of the project is the people who live nearby.

"The life safety really is what it boils down to; we are here to protect lives and I sleep better knowing that this project is underway," Coconino County Flood Control District Forest Restoration Director Jay Smith said.

What's next:

Officials say that when this project wraps up near the end of the year, the temporary access roads will be obliterated, all the logging will be taken down to Phoenix and other parts of the state, and people in Coconino County will hardly tell in a few years that any of this work was done.