If you’re driving on Route 66 in Flagstaff, Ariz., and see logging going on, don’t worry — the Coconino Forest around the city isn’t being clear-cut.
The Arizona Daily Sun says the forest is being thinned to reduce the risk of severe wildfires that could damage homes. Surrounded on all sides by trees, Flagstaff is particularly vulnerable to such infernos.
Thinning is started or coming to the following areas: Mountainaire, Elk Park, northwest of Anderson Mesa, along the base of Mount Elden, west of Walnut Canyon, in Timberline and Doney Park and generally east of the San Francisco Peaks.
Thinning is planned, but not started, for Hart Prairie and for a small section along West Route 66, as well.
The forest-thinning efforts will continue into 2014.