Flagstaff Water Services made four water resources available to the U.S. Forest Service for fighting the Pipeline Fire just north of Flagstaff this week. As severe winds and hot, dry conditions caused the fire to rapidly expand, Water Services provided access to three fire hydrants, the North Reservoir Storage Tank, re-opened the reclaimed water line at Snowbowl, and on Friday, we opened an Inner Basin well for fire-fighting needs.

On Monday June 13, the Mayor and Council declared a state of emergency, enabling Water Services to open the Snowbowl reclaimed water line to provide an additional water supply directly at the top of the mountain. Reclamation crews are balancing the City’s reclaimed water customer demand with the firefighting needs on the mountain – a challenging task, given the high demand during this dry season.

As winds diminished on Tuesday and Wednesday, small helicopters began dipping water buckets from the North Reservoir as part of a strong aerial attack. The designated fire hydrants were opened and made available for residential fire protection. We were able to access Inner Basin on Friday, June 17, to open a well toward these efforts. We’re putting our water resources towards their best and most imperative use right now – protecting our homes and the beautiful San Francisco Peaks.