The U.S. Forest Service is proposing the Kaibab Plateau Public and Firefighter Safety Project to address post-wildfire safety hazards and improve wildfire resilience across the Kaibab Plateau in northern Arizona. The project focuses on areas affected by the 2025 Dragon Bravo and White Sage Fires, as well as key transportation corridors that remain vulnerable to future wildfire activity.
The Dragon Bravo Fire ignited on July 4, 2025, near the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park and quickly became one of the largest wildfires in the region's history. The fire burned nearly 150,000 acres across Grand Canyon National Park and the Kaibab National Forest. More than 100 structures were destroyed, including the historic Grand Canyon Lodge. The fire also left thousands of dead and damaged trees along roads, trails, campgrounds, and recreation sites, creating ongoing safety hazards and contributing to long-term closures that have affected public access and local economies dependent on outdoor recreation.
Project Summary:
In response to the impacts of the Dragon Bravo and White Sage Fires, the Forest Service is proposing a series of safety and fuels reduction treatments designed to protect visitors, improve firefighter access, and support long-term forest recovery. The project would remove hazardous fire-damaged trees, create shaded fuel breaks along key transportation routes, reduce accumulated fuels, and maintain infrastructure needed to support future management and emergency response activities.
Proposed Actions by USFS:
- Remove hazardous trees on up to 4,359 acres along approximately 135 miles of roads, 22 miles of trails, 40 miles of fence lines, and 49 developed water features impacted by the Dragon Bravo and White Sage Fires.
- Mechanically thin approximately 3,818 acres of hazard tree areas using ground-based equipment, with an additional 541 acres treated using hand tools such as chainsaws.
- Create up to 5,067 acres of shaded fuel breaks in ponderosa pine and mixed-conifer forests along approximately 100 miles of key roads to reduce wildfire intensity and improve firefighter access.
- Mechanically treat approximately 3,937 acres of fuel break areas and use hand treatments on an additional 1,130 acres.
- Pile and burn existing dead and downed fuels, as well as fuels generated during project implementation.
- Seed disturbed areas, including burn piles and equipment staging areas, to promote ground cover and stabilize soils.
- Maintain roads, bridges, and drainage infrastructure needed to implement hazard tree removal and fuel reduction work.
BlueRibbon Coalition supports projects that help keep public lands safe, accessible, and open for recreation. The Kaibab Plateau Public and Firefighter Safety Project would address hazardous conditions that currently threaten visitors and limit access to roads, trails, and recreation facilities throughout the project area. By removing dangerous fire-killed trees and reducing future wildfire risk along key travel corridors, the project will help restore safe public access, improve emergency response capabilities, and support the long-term recovery of one of Arizona's most important recreation destinations. Maintaining transportation routes and reducing the likelihood of future large-scale closures will benefit off-road enthusiasts, hunters, campers, and all public land users who depend on continued access to the Kaibab Plateau.
Submit your comment below and let the Forest Service know you support addressing these hazards and keeping roads open, safe and accessible. Comments are being accepted through June 20, 2026.
