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Fires managed on Tusayan District

Last week, Kaibab National Forest fire managers were monitoring a prescribed burn and four naturally-ignited wildland fires on the Tusayan Ranger District.

These included 110 acres as part of the Red Horse prescribed burn project, five miles south of Grandview Lookout just south of Forest Road 317. Within the last week, fire managers have already treated 400 acres in the project area.

"We have had very good fire effects as part of this prescribed burn," said Dave Mills, assistant fire management officer for the Tusayan Ranger District. "It has been burning at a low-to-moderate intensity and hasn't had any smoke impacts to Tusayan or the Grand Canyon."

After this burn, Mills said he doesn't expect to burn in the Red Horse area again until sometime after the beginning of the monsoons.

Another 700 acres will be available for treatment with prescribed burning after the area receives moisture.

Besides the Red Horse prescribed burn, Tusayan fire officials were also managing four wildland fire use fires. These fires are known as "wildland fire use" because forest managers use them to help meet resource objectives such as recycling nutrients into the soil and enhancing habitat for wildlife.

The largest wildland fire use fire burning on the Tusayan Ranger District was the Mudersbach Fire, which was at 150 acres last week, burning through ponderosa pine forest, small meadows and brush.

It was about six miles south of Grandview Lookout to the southwest of the Red Horse project area.

The Skinner Fire, which was discovered June 13, was still burning last week but was growing very slowly. It had treated about 50 acres four miles south of Grandview Lookout just northeast of Forest Road 301. The fire burned through ponderosa pine forest with a grass understory.

The North Wildland Fire Use Fire was discovered about a half mile northwest of the Skinner Fire and as of last week had burned about 12 acres.

Mills said it was also unlikely to grow rapidly because of previous treatment with fire in the area.

The final wildland fire use fire burning on the Tusayan Ranger District was the Stem Fire, which had treated less than an acre.

It was located a little more than a mile southwest of the Mudersbach Fire and is thought to have been ignited during the same storm. The Stem Fire had been inactive for a few days and by now may be declared out.

"These fires not only improve forest health, but they also help us to educate people about fire's natural role in the ecosystem," Mills said. "We hope to continue to have opportunities to allow fire to re-establish itself as a natural process."

For more information, contact Jackie Denk at 928-635-5607.


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