FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — The Coconino County Public Works Department has restored the top speed limit along the southernmost 10 miles of Lake Mary Road to 50 miles per hour. The speed limit was lowered to 35 mph on May 7 between Milepost 300.5 and State Route 87 during U.S. Forest Service (USFS) backburning operations for the Wolf Fire, which concluded on Monday.
The reduced speed limit was necessary for the safety of firefighters who were working alongside Lake Mary Road, and for the traveling public due to smoke impacts to the highway.
Located approximately three miles northwest of Clints Well, the lightning-caused Wolf Fire was managed by USFS as a prescribed fire project to remove hazardous forest fuels such as pine needles, dead and down trees, and other dry plant matter from approximately 10,000 acres of land that, left untreated, could have led to potentially catastrophic wildfires.