Burning Benefits
Public lands managers have several tools to choose from when making decisions about natural resource management. One of the options is wildland fire-use management. Wildland fire use is a strategy to actively manage naturally ignited wildland fires to accomplish specific resource management objectives in predefined areas. The goal of the fire-use program is to allow fire to return to its natural role in the ecosystem, thereby improving forest health and protecting communities.
The decision to forego suppression and instead apply wildland fire-use management is not taken lightly. It requires extensive consultation, broad evaluation and comprehensive risk assessment to ensure the decision is the proper way to manage natural resources.
On May 6, lightning ignited a fire in the Kaibab National Forest about 12 miles southeast of the community of Tusayan, Ariz. Some may say Tusayan District fire managers were crazy to consider this new start as a wildland fire-use candidate on the heels of the nearby 2,000-acre wind-driven X Fire one week prior. Others would say this was a perfect opportunity for fire managers to assess the situation, evaluate the values at risk, consider the adjacent previous burns as effective barriers and make the right decision to manage this event for resource benefits. Fire managers made the decision and the 22 Wildland Fire Use fire began.
The location of the 22 WFU in relation to other burns in this area gave fire managers confidence that management actions could be taken to confine the growth to about 1,200 acres. Three previous wildland fire-use fires from 2004 to 2006 bounded the fire on the north. The Red Horse prescribed-burn project laid to the northeast while the Scott prescribed-burn project laid to the northwest. In addition, the 2005 Muders-bach WFU lined the eastern boundary of the fire. This previous fire activity and roads in the area certainly limited potential for spotting, torching and crowning as experienced on the X Fire.
Managers could not have asked for a more consistent surface fire spread that reduced hazardous fuel buildup and returned fire as a natural force in this ecosystem that historically would have supported fire activity every five to 10 years. The 22 WFU burned in a fairly open ponderosa pine stand interspersed with meadows gaining 100 to 250 acres a day. One week into the incident, rain and snow suspended fire activity for several days. The fire regained momentum four days later and continued its journey southward. The fire reached its planned perimeter of 1,255 acres two weeks after it began.
Management actions taken on the 22 WFU included protecting wildlife habitat, averting fire away from wildlife water tanks, preventing fire spread outside the desired management area and protecting an archaeological site. The total cost of the event was $120,000. There were no injuries and personnel received training in the application of wildland fire-use management.
Local public interest was high. Concerted efforts were made to keep the community of Tusayan and outlying areas well informed on the fire's progress while explaining why it was being managed for resource benefits. There were no significant smoke impacts to local communities.
The success of the 22 WFU fire relied on many factors such as available resources, weather conditions and hard work. Importantly, the previous prescribed burns and wildland fire-use events in this vicinity helped contain fire spread within the planned management area. The 22 WFU will add one more protective layer to the forest's land management program to help reduce the possibility of destructive and dangerous wildland fires in this area in the future.
Fire managers plan to continue conducting wildland fire use fires and prescribed burns near Tusayan and in other areas on the Kaibab National Forest to protect communities and improve forest health.
Some may say managing the 22 WFU for resource benefits was a surprising endeavor in the wake of a 2,000-acre suppression fire one week prior in the same general area. Others may say, given the conditions and desired land-management objectives, it was the appropriate response to manage fire in an area that has gone without this natural disturbance for too long. Regardless, Kaibab National Forest fire managers plan to continue wildland fire use and prescribed burns to protect communities and improve forest health.
Punky Moore is the fire information officer on the Kaibab National Forest in Williams, Ariz. Moore began her information career as a visitor use assistant in the mountaineering program at Denali National Park in 1995. She moved to the Forest Service in 2000, and continued working in information services in Steamboat Springs, Colo., on the Med Bow/Routt National Forests. She acquired her Type-2 information officer qualifications in Colorado and began working with the Northern Rockies Interagency Fire Use Management Team in 2001. Moore moved to the Mendocino National Forest in northern California in 2004. While on the Mendocino, she coordinated fire information efforts during incidents and developed communication plans for the fire management program.
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