Resources
The Coconino National Forest is home to a variety of wildland firefighting resources, including Interagency Hotshot Crews, hand crews engines, dozers, water tenders and more.
Many of the resources housed on the Coconino are national resources, which means they often travel across the country to manage wildfires in a variety of locations.
What is a resource?
A "resource" is anything that helps us in our fire management goals, whether we're working to fully suppress a rogue wildfire, or safely spread a low-intensity prescribed fire across the landscape.
Here on the Coconino, we use a variety of different resources. Some work better in certain fuel types and terrain. Others are best utilized in certain parts of the country. Some resources, such as hand crews staffed with firefighters, work directly on the fire line. Other resources, such as an individual dispatcher, work behind-the-scenes. All of these resources can work together in different combinations to assist in wildfire response.
The National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) works to track and assign resources across the nation to various wildfires.
The following is a list of many (but not all) of the resources hosted here on the Coconino National Forest.
Interagency Hotshot Crews
The 2024 Flagstaff Interagency Hotshot Crew.
The Flagstaff Interagency Hotshot Crew (IHC) is based out of the Flagstaff Ranger District in Flagstaff, Ariz.
The crew, originally established in 1972, was known as the Coconino Hotshots during its inaugural year. It was one of the first three Hotshot crews established in the Arizona and New Mexico region.
The crew was created using a combination of a 10-person Hopi suppression module combined with another 10 local individuals. Firefighter Bill Bishop was named as its first superintendent.
The crew, renamed the Flagstaff Hotshots in 1973, currently works out of a ranch property located at the base of the San Francisco Peaks, which was provided to the forest during a land exchange. The piece of property, which was known as the "Ski & Spur Ranch" by its previous owners, is now known locally as "Hotshot Ranch."
The 2024 Mormon Lake Interagency Hotshot Crew.
The Mormon Lake Interagency Hotshot Crew (IHC) is based out of the Flagstaff Ranger District in Flagstaff, Ariz.
The crew, established in 1976, was originally based out of the Mormon Lake Guard Station on what was then the Mormon Lake Ranger District.
Mormon Lake lost three of its crewmembers in western Colorado's Battlement Creek Fire on July 7, 1976. Steven Furey, Scott Nelson and Superintendent Tony Czak are remembered as pioneers of the Mormon Lake Hotshots and are memorialized at the Western Slope Fire Center in Colorado.
The crew relocated to its current home, the Mormon Lake Work Center located on the south end of Flagstaff, in 1979.
The 2024 Blue Ridge Interagency Hotshot Crew.
The Blue Ridge Interagency Hotshot Crew is based out of the Mogollon Rim Ranger District in Happy Jack, Ariz.
The crew was established in 1973 on what was then the Blue Ridge Ranger District. During the crew's early years, members were recruited from Northern Arizona University and traveled to fires on a small General Services Administration school bus. Housing was provided at the station in small framed canvas tents, which were replaced by mobile homes the next year.
The crew developed a rock climbing and rappel training program in 1976 to allow crewmembers to access fires off the face of the Mogollon Rim. Crews were trained in climbing, rappelling, and search and rescue. Crew members with professional climbing backgrounds were often sought out during this era.
The climbing program was officially discontinued in 1993 over concerns regarding certification, safety and liability, though informal training and use of the climbing equipment continued through the 1990s.
The Blue Ridge IHC responds to fires across the U.S. and in Canada as needed.
Hand Crews
Crew 4 is a 10-person hand crew based on the Flagstaff Ranger District in Flagstaff, Ariz.
It was established in 2007 when two five-person fuels modules on the then-Mormon Lake Ranger District and then-Peaks Ranger District combined.
Crew 4 assists the Flagstaff Ranger District in implementing prescribed fire and managing lightning-caused fires. It also serves as a flexible initial attack resource for full-suppression wildfires.
Crew 6 is a 10-person hand crew based on the Red Rock Ranger District in Sedona, Ariz.
Crew 9 is a 10-person hand crew based on the Mogollon Rim Ranger District in Happy Jack, Ariz.
Other Resources
The Coconino National Forest host several engines across all three of its districts. Each engine is specially designed for wildfire response and is staffed by a handful of firefighters.
Flagstaff Ranger District:
- 6 engines (3 Type 3, 3 Type 6)
Mogollon Rim Ranger District:
- 5 engines (2 Type 3, 2 Type 6)
Red Rock Ranger District:
- 2 engines (1 Type 3, 1 Type 6)
The Coconino National Forest hosts four water tenders spread across the Flagstaff and Mogollon Rim ranger districts.
The Coconino National Forest hosts three dozers on its Flagstaff Ranger District, and one dozer on the Mogollon Rim Ranger District.
In addition to its on-the-ground wildland firefighting resources, the Coconino National Forest is also home to overhead resources, such as patrol, prevention, lookouts and more.
These resources handle wildland fire planning and logistics, safety, dispatching and communications, financial tracking, public information, cooperation with partner agencies, and more.