New sawmill opens outside of Flagstaff to help prevent wildfires [Video]

FLAGSTAFF, AZ (AZFamily) — The largest sawmill in the Southwest officially opened Tuesday just outside of Flagstaff.

It will help Coconino County on its mission of forest restoration to prevent major wildfires.

Since 2010, wildfires have burned over a quarter million acres in Coconino County.

Coconino County Flood Control District community relations manager Sean Golightly said the county takes wildfires and their consequences very seriously.

“Wildfire and post-wildfire flooding are the two biggest public safety threats in Coconino County,” Golightly said.

Both the county and the U.S. Forest Service have spent tens of millions of dollars on forest restoration, such as prescribed burns and thinning, which can be very expensive by itself.

Forest Restoration director Jay Smith in Coconino County Public Works said that without a mill, it can end up costing the county more to do nothing with the wood.

“The timber has so little value or if we’re trying to remove biomass, there’s a cost …