NIFC/NPS FIRE MANAGEMENT

---

NIFC/NPS Fire and Aviation Management
National Fire/Incident Situation Highlights

National Fire Activity – Preparedness Level 5

Initial attack was light on Tuesday. Fifty-four uncontained large fires are now burning nationwide. Nearly 3100 firefighters and five overhead teams are committed to the huge Zaca Fire in California. Sizable fires are burning on the North Rim of Grand Canyon and Sequoia.

Further information on the national situation can be found at http://www.nifc.gov/fire_info/nfn.htm

Fire Summary

Date	Tue	Wed	Thu	Sun	Mon	Tue
Day	8/14	8/15	8/16	8/19	8/20	8/21
Initial Attack Fires	261	215	112	136	148	104
New Large Fires	10	7	5	4	3	7
Large Fires Contained	10	5	9	5	3	1
Uncontained Large Fires	53	56	54	53	50	54

National Resource Commitments

Date	Tue	Wed	Thu	Sun	Mon	Tue
Day	8/14	8/15	8/16	8/19	8/20	8/21
Area Command Teams	3	3	3	3	3	3
NIMO Teams	1	1	1	2	2	2
Type 1 Teams	9	12	11	13	12	11
Type 2 Teams	18	18	17	17	17	14
FUM Teams	3	5	5	6	5	5

The full NIFC Incident Management Situation Report (a PDF file) can be obtained at http://www.nifc.gov/news/sitreprt.pdf

Fire Weather Forecast

Hot and dry weather in California for the next few days. Winds will increase today over portions of southern California and the southern Great Basin. Isolated wet thunderstorms are possible from northeast Nevada to western Wyoming. A slow warming and drying trend will take place in the Northwest, Idaho and Montana. Hot and dry conditions will persist over the Southeast.

NPS Fire News

Sequoia & Kings Canyon NPs – Fire managers surveyed the Willow Fire by helicopter flight on August 19th and mapped the fire at 184 acres. The fire (discovered on July 21st) is located two miles southwest of Big Arroyo in the southern part of Sequoia National Park and is burning in foxtail pine above 10,000 feet in elevation. Fire activity is slowly increasing as the fuels dry. Fire behavior includes creeping ground fire with some torching. The fire is backing toward the Big Arroyo and into more continuous fuels in the lodgepole pine. This, coupled with the strong winds typical in the Kern River drainage, will likely lead to further growth of the fire. There are no trail closures in place near the Willow Fire at this time. Hikers may notice limited smoke in the vicinity. [Deb Schweizer]

Grand Canyon NP – Cape Royal Road on the North Rim has been closed to allow the Roosevelt Fire to burn for resource benefit. The Roosevelt Fire, a wildland fire use fire, is located seven miles east of the North Rim developed area on the Walhalla Plateau. Cape Royal Road is closed starting at its junction with the Point Imperial Road. National Park Service employees are asking people to leave areas of the Walhalla Plateau that are affected by the closure, which will remain in effect until further notice. The Roosevelt Fire, a lightning-caused fire discovered on July 19th, was expected to grow from 80 acres to approximately 250 to 300 acres by Tuesday evening. It is actively burning in ponderosa pine and mixed conifer. The fire is one-half to three-quarters of a mile west of the Cape Royal Road and was expected to reach the road yesterday evening. Moderate smoke impacts could occur in Page, Arizona, this afternoon, and heavy smoke impacts could occur in some parts of the Grand Canyon overnight. Smoke should start to lift out of the canyon by mid-morning. These smoke trends could remain in effect over the next few days as warm, dry conditions return to northern Arizona. A Type II fire use manager from Big Bend National Park will be taking over management of the Roosevelt Fire. Although the Cape Royal Road is closed from its junction with the Point Imperial Road, all other North Rim roads and facilities are open. All South Rim roads and facilities also remain open. For more information about the Roosevelt Fire, please contact Pamela Walls, public affairs specialist at Grand Canyon National Park, at (928) 638-7958, the park’s recorded fire information message at (928) 638-7819, or go to the park’s web site at www.nps.gov/grca . [Pamela Walls]

*****

For brief supplemental narratives on fires listed below, click on the bar with the arrow. Internal NPS readers can link directly to full reports on each fire by clicking on the notepad icon; public readers of the Morning Report can obtain similar information by going to http://www.nps.gov/fire/public/pub_firenews.cfm

Park	State	Fire	Type	Acres	Percent Contain	Est. Full Contain
Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks	CA	Willow Fire	Wildland Fire Use	184 acres	N/A	N/A
	Latest Narrative: Fire managers surveyed the Willow Fire by helicopter flight on August 19th and mapped the fire at 184 acres. The Willow Fire (discovered 7/21/07) is located two miles southwest of Big Arroyo in the southern part of Sequoia National Park and is burning in foxtail pine above 10,000 feet in elevation. Fire behavior is slowly increasing as the fuels dry. Fire behavior includes creeping ground fire with some torching. The fire is backing toward the Big Arroyo and into more continuous fuels in the lodgepole pine. This, coupled with the strong winds typical in the Kern River drainage, will likely lead to further growth of the fire. There are no trail closures in place near the Willow Fire at this time. Hikers may notice limited smoke in the vicinity. The Willow Fire can be safely managed in the park’s wilderness as there are no significant threats to life or property. This allows fire to maintain its role in the natural system of Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks. It provides an excellent opportunity for backcountry users to see one of the many natural events that shape the beautiful Sierra Nevada.

For more information, go to the NPS Fire and Aviation Management at http://www.nps.gov/fire/index.cfm