Arizona Daily Sun from Flagstaff, Arizona • A1

1 ALMANAC A2 AROUND TOWN A2 CLASSIFIEDS B6 COMICS B5 DEAR ABBY B5 LOTTERY A3 MOVIES A6 OPINION A5 SPORTS B1 $1.50 Volume 72, Issue 107 A Lee Enterprises Newspaper Copyright 2017 Follow us online: facebook.com/ArizonaDailySun twitter.com@azds instagram.com/azdailysun See more photos of Riordan decorations for the holidays AT AZDAILYSUN.COM DISCOVER DIGITAL SUNNY 36 21 FORECAST, A2 Thursday, december 7, 2017 azdailysun.com Fact check shrinking of national monuments ARIZONA, A3 Roll out the welcome mat Flagstaff, Coconino battle other schools at home meet SPORTS, B1 MICHAEL BALSAMO AND BRIAN MELLEY Associated Press LOS ANGELES largest and most destructive wildfire in Southern California has grown to 140 square miles and fire officials say the worst may be yet to come. The fire burning in Ventura County northwest of Los Angeles has swept through ridges and canyons to the sea and Santa Ana winds that drove it are ex- pected to return with a vengeance overnight. State fire director Ken Pimlott says winds that eased in the after- noon could return with gusts up to 80 mph Thursday that would make it impossible to fight the fire. Nearly 1,800 firefighters and a fleet of aircraft are fighting the flames but the blaze is only 5 per- cent contained and an estimated 12,000 buildings are in danger. Hundreds of homes across the L.A.

metropolitan area and be- yond were feared destroyed since Monday, but firefighters were only slowly managing to make their way into some of the hard-hit areas for an accurate count. As many as five fires have closed highways, schools and museums, shut down production of TV se- ries and cast a hazardous haze over the region. About 200,000 people EMERY COWAN Sun Staff Reporter In addition to state efforts to find solutions for Highway 180 and Milton Road traffic, the Northern Arizona Intergovern- mental Public Transportation Authority, or NAIPTA, is creat- ing its own plan for the corridor. The transit plan- ning focuses on transit services, alternate routes and highway access options to improve win- tertime travel along the highway just north of Flagstaff, said Kate Morley, a planner with NAIPTA. The planning effort is funded through a $220,000 grant from the Arizona Department of Transportation.

180 is a chronic community issue and we believe transit and NAIPTA can be a part of the said Jeff Meil- beck, CEO and general manager of NAIPTA. NAIPTA is starting by collect- ing traffic data for the 180 corri- dor, Morley said. One source of that data is aggregated cell phone records that show peo- personal information but indicate where they are coming from and where around Flagstaff CORINA VANEK Sun Staff Reporter Would expanding Highway 180 alleviate winter gridlock, or is the solution creating an alter- nate route? Would an extra lane on Milton Road help commuters move faster? Those are the questions the Arizona Department of Trans- portation has set out to answer while creating the U.S. 180 and Milton Road master plans, which will include a 20-year vision for each of the ADOT-controlled roads. ADOT Project Manager Dan Gabiou and Kevin Kugler, a proj- ect manager for Michael Baker International, a consultant hired for the planning process, pre- sented the goals and projected timeline for the planning pro- cess to the Flagstaff City Coun- cil Tuesday evening.

The two also looked for feedback from the councilmembers about their visions for the two corridors and what they would like to see in fu- ture plans. ADOT has partnered with the Flagstaff Metropolitan Planning Council weighs in on Milton, 180 NANCY WIECHEC Riordan Mansion has once again been decorated for the holidays. Pictured here is the fireplace and mantle inside the billiard room. Riordan Mansion has its annual Christmas party set for this Saturday at 9 a.m., with a visit from Santa and stories read by Mrs. Claus.

Tours are also available at the mansion from Thursday through Monday (except Christmas Day) until Jan. 7. For more photos, see Page a9. California fire rages SUZANNE ADAMS-OCKRASSA Sun Staff Reporter Fifth-graders who have been waiting to get into Flagstaff Arts and Leadership Academy will get their chance next year. The school announced last week that it will add its first sixth-grade class to its roster in the fall of 2018.

Dean of Academy Deidre Craw- ley said FALA has been working on adding a sixth-grade class to the school since Flagstaff Unified School District added sixth grade to its middle schools. The school is hoping to have a first sixth-grade class of at least 50 students. think it was fair to make students and parents wait a year and enroll in another school before they could apply to Crawley said. FALA has been a fixture in Flagstaff since it opened as one of the first public charter schools in 1996. At first the school only taught high school students.

In 2010, the school expanded to its current location and added sev- enth and eighth grades. Crawley said demand for a sixth grade at FALA has been increas- ing over the last few years, with a number of parents and students asking when or if the school was going to add a sixth grade. She added that the school al- ready has most of the staff, fac- ulty and physical space it needs for the new grade, so the cost to implement the new grade will be minimal. FALA may have to hire one ad- ditional teacher and will have to rearrange some classes, she said. Administration has been walk- ing with the middle school team of teachers and staff for several years about the addition of a sixth grade, so staff and faculty are pre- pared.

All sixth-graders will have ac- cess to the same beginning-level electives such as dance, music, Flagstaff Arts Leadership Academy adds sixth grade JaKe bacON, ARIZONA DAILY SUN A face looks back towards families at the commencement ceremonies for Flagstaff Arts and Leadership Academy Friday evening at Coconino Community College. NAIPTA mulls its own solutions JaKe bacON, ARIZONA DAILY SUN An unbroken line of cars moves along Highway 180 near the Museum of Northern Arizona in this January, 2011 file photo. On the cusp of the winter ski and snowplay season, Flagstaff-area officials are hoping a suite of strategies, some new and some drawn from years past, will help mitigate traffic jams along the Highway 180 corridor. ADOT presents its goals and a projected timeline for changes rIOrdaN ready FOr The hOLIdays NANCY WIECHEC Riordan Christmas tree is up and on display. The chrIsTmas Tree The agency looks at cell phone data and traffic patterns NOAH BERGER Flames from the Thomas fire burn above traffic on Highway 101 north of Ventura, on Wednesday.Please see WILdFIres, Page A10 Please see FaLa, Page A6 Please see NaIPTa, Page A6 Please see cOuNcIL, Page A6.