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Lightning fires managed for multiple objectives
The fires will consume heavy fuel accumulation—dead vegetation on the forest floor—which will cultivate healthier wildlife
habitat by breaking down dead underbrush and releasing nutrients into the soil so new vegetation can thrive. Additionally, two recent lightning-caused fires were suppressed and contained yesterday evening. This includes the
Stump Fire, located about a mile northeast of Oak Creek Canyon Vista, and the Thunderstruck Fire, located approximately five miles northeast of Clints Well. The following comprise active lightning-caused fires that are currently being managed:
Start Date: July 20,
2016. Location: Four miles
southeast of Clints Well. Current Size: 40 acres. Resources: One engine;
total of about five firefighters. Smoke: Predicted to
disperse to the east/southeast today. Smoke will be minimal and light, but visible to those in the immediate area of the fire, Forest Road 300 and possibly by those recreating at Blue Ridge Reservoir. Closures: None. Operations: This fire
has received a lot of moisture recently and is slowly creeping across the landscape, so not producing a lot of smoke. Crews will be monitoring the fire as it continues to burn and smolder. Activity on this fire is predicted to be low.
Start Date: July 21,
2016. Location: Four miles
east of Mormon Lake. Current Size: 150 acres. Resources: Two engines
and one fuels crew; total of about 20 firefighters. Smoke: Predicted to
disperse to the east. Smoke will be visible to those in the Mormon Lake community and those traveling along Lake Mary Road in the area of Mormon Lake. A plume of smoke may also be visible from Flagstaff. Smoke will be heaviest today and tomorrow, but should
be very light and residual by Sunday. Closures: None. Operations: Fire managers
will conduct burnout operations from control features (such as forest roads) today and tomorrow, which will produce noticeable smoke in the area of the fire. Fire managers plan to allow about 100 acres to burn today and 250 acres tomorrow. Activity on this
fire should be minimal by Sunday as crews conduct mop-up and monitoring. EDEN FIRE Start Date: July 27,
2016. Location: Four miles
northeast of Clints Well. Current Size: 150 acres. Resources: Two engines,
two crews, one fuels crew; total of about 55 firefighters. Smoke: Predicted to
disperse to the east toward Jacks Canyon. Moderate smoke will be visible to travelers along state Route 87 and the Clints Well/Blue Ridge community. Closures: None. Operations: Resources
will focus on preparing the fire’s perimeter by constructing hand lines in specific areas that tie in with existing forest roads to be used as control features. The fire is burning unabated between Forest Road 211K and 9746E. As wildfire seeks to fulfil its natural role in the ecosystem, fire managers continue to consider many factors in
managing fire—including available resources, weather conditions, smoke impacts to the public, risk to firefighters and benefit to the landscape. Fire is a natural part of the forest ecosystem and will occur—either catastrophically or under safer conditions
such as prescribed and managed fires. Follow us on Twitter @CoconinoNF for quick updates on these fires and other happenings around the forest, or visit
http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/unit/303/ to
keep up-to-date on the details of managed and other large fires on the Coconino National Forest.
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Attachment:
COC-NR-7-29-16-ManagedFires.pdf
Description: COC-NR-7-29-16-ManagedFires.pdf
