Recently, NAU did a study on the economic impact of post wildfire flooding to the City of Williams if a wildfire occurred on Bill Williams Mountain. The study estimates that the economic impact from catastrophic wildfire and the post-wildfire efforts would be between three hundred and seven hundred million dollars. The estimated cost of forest restoration on the Mountain is approximately $8 million dollars. The Bill Williams Mountain Watershed is located south and uphill from The City of Williams’ cultural, tourist, retail, residential and governmental core. The watershed is heavily used for outdoor recreation. Due to increasing fire danger with warmer and dryer weather conditions in the immediate forecast, the Kaibab National Forest closed the area last week until the area receives significant precipitation.
