Coconino National Forest Manages Fire for Resource
Incident: Black WFU Wildland Fire Used for Resource Benefit
Released: 8/14/2008
For Immediate Release August 14, 2008
Coconino National Forest Manages Black Fire for Resource Benefits
Flagstaff, AZ - A lightning-ignited fire on the Peaks Ranger District of the Coconino National Forest is being managed as a Wildland Fire Use (WFU) Fire. The Black Fire started over the weekend in the cinder-laden landscape northeast of Flagstaff - approximately 2 miles north of Sunset Crater National Monument and Forest Road 545, 2 miles south of the Strawberry Crater Trailhead, at the base of Black Mountain. WFU fires are naturally-ignited (lightning) and are managed to meet resource objectives such as improving wildlife habitat, reducing the potential for high-intensity wildland fires, and restoring fire to a more natural role in the ecosystem.
· WFU Fire Name: Black Fire
· Date Started: August 10, 2008
· Location: The fire is located in a very remote and rugged section of the Peaks Ranger District - approximately 2 miles north of Sunset Crater.
· Cause: Lightning (All WFU fires must be naturally ignited.).
· Fuels: Ponderosa Pine and brush - fuels are broken by sections of cinders throughout the area.
· Behavior: Creeping and slow. Activity can increase slightly during the middle (the hottest and driest part) of the day. The thunderstorms in the forecast will determine the behavior and
· Acres Treated: Less than 1 acre. With the natural fuel-breaks (cinders) surrounding the fire area, the Black Fire has the potential to treat approximately 150 acres.
· Resource Benefits: Restoration of a fire-adapted ecosystem; reduction of accumulated fuels on the forest floor; recycling of nutrients into the soil; protection of the greater area from future high-intensity wildland fires.
· Closures: No road/trail closures are in effect.
· Summary: Typical to a low-intensity burn, smoke from the Black Fire should have minimal impacts to the surrounding area. Fire managers from the Peaks Ranger District will continue to monitor and evaluate fire conditions daily.
Wildland Fire Use Fires are a tool used to efficiently protect, maintain and enhance natural resources; and, as nearly as possible, allows fire to function in its natural ecological role within defined boundaries. Before a fire is put into WFU status, land managers evaluate several criteria. For example, archaeologists and wildlife biologists inspect the area to ensure wildlife habitats and archaeological sites will not be harmed as a result of the fire or management practices. Once a fire is put into WFU status, it is actively managed, meaning boundaries, weather, and fuel conditions are established under which the fire will be allowed to burn.
