Marteen Fire Update
Incident: Marteen Wildland Fire Used for Resource Benefit
Released: 8/16/2008
The Marteen Wildland Fire Use located 15 miles northeast of Williams received between one-half and one inch of rain on Friday. As the storm approached in the afternoon, the temperature fell 28 degrees and the humidity rose to 97%. The 310 acre fire stopped spreading and only some large logs and stumps were still smoldering Saturday morning.
The extended forecast for Northern Arizona is continued scattered showers and thunderstorms with possible hail and strong winds for the next ten days. The seasonal drying pattern is expected to begin at the end of August and last through late October. Under the current conditions, it is possible the Marteen WFU may receive enough moisture to go out completely.
Personnel from the Marteen WUF have been reassigned to other incidents. Local unit fire managers will continue to monitor the fire.
This year, the Kaibab National Forest is one of 30 sites participating in a pilot program testing proposed changes to the Federal Wildland Fire Management Policy. These modifications will allow fire managers a full range of management options on naturally ignited fires on federal lands.
An important proposed change in the policy is being able to manage a fire with more than one objective. Under the existing policy, wildland fires will either be managed for resource benefits or suppressed. However, under the pilot program, this modification means officials can consider multiple objectives during the initial evaluation of a fire and can also change strategies as the incident evolves.
Under the guidelines of the pilot program, officials were able to monitor the Marteen Fire under a confinement strategy. Then, officials were able to shift to a wildland fire use strategy as the fire grew and it became evident that managing the fire for resource benefits was the appropriate management response to take. These proposed policy changes gave managers more flexibility to handle the Marteen Fire based on positive land management practices and changing conditions as the fire moved across the landscape.
Two additional fires on the forest are being managed under the authority of the pilot program. They are: Oak WFU, 10 miles south of Williams (473 acres) and Newt WFU, 15 miles east of Tusayan (450 acres). There has been little change on the Oak and Newt for two weeks.
This will be the last report on the Marteen, Oak and Newt WFUs unless noteworthy activity occurs. For additional information, please contact Punky Moore, Fire Information Officer, (928-635-5653).
-USFS-
