Community News

News release Obi Fire on Grand Canyon National Park North Rim Grows to 1000 Acres; Stina Fire on Kaibab National Forest Grows to 25 Acres

July 30, 2018

 Grand Canyon, AZ - The Obi Fire is approximately 1000 acres. Growth today was primarily in the northern and eastern portions of the fire perimeter. Light southwesterly winds throughout the day allowed fire to grow through pine needles and downed logs. Fire behavior was active with single tree torching and surface fire of one to three foot flames where the fire was consuming dead logs.

 Located in the far southwest corner of the Wahalla Plateau above Obi Point, the Obi Fire started on July 21st. Fire managers plan to continue the strategy of confining and containing the lightning caused fire in a predetermined area while providing for point protection of identified sensitive natural and cultural resources.

 Fire crews continue work to directly suppress the 25 acre Stina Fire located on the Kaibab National Forest. The Stina Fire was detected on July 26th, to the northeast of Fire Point. Today crews built line all around the perimeter of the fire and completed burnout operations.

 "Firefighter and public safety remain our number one priority as our crews continue to suppress multiple starts over the Kaibab Plateau," said Incident Commander trainee Bryan Hakanson. In the past week the Kaibab Plateau has had 10 starts all of which have been actively suppressed by fire crews. Over the past week fire crews have also contained the 17 acre Atoko Fire and the 32.5 acre Saffron Fire.

 Smoke from the Obi Fire is visible from both the North and South Rims of the park. However large scale wildfires across the west may also have impacts on the canyon over the next few days. Visitors may see increased smoke or haze filling the canyon.

At this time there are no road or trail closures within the park or on the forest, however individuals looking to hike out near Obi point should check in with the backcountry office or visitor center before choosing a route. Visitors driving along Cape Royal Road should be aware of fire crews working in the vicinity. Motorist should turn on their headlights and slow down for emergency response vehicles.

Current resources assigned to the fires are one Type 2IA handcrew, five engines, one helicopter, helitack, and a fire ecologist.

Each fire start is evaluated by fire management officials for the most appropriate management strategy. Firefighter safety, resources at risk, location of the fire, available resources, regional and national preparedness levels, and weather forecast are taken into consideration when responding to a wildfire ignition.

Despite the Rain fire having reached its full potential, some lingering smoke might still be visible. For more information about the Rain fire, please go to the Kaibab National Forest InciWeb page for the Rain Fire https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/6002/.

Please visit https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/management/firemanagement.htm for other information about wildland fire at Grand Canyon National Park or call 928-638-7819 for recorded fire information. For additional information and photos of the Obi fire, visit https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/6030/ .

For fire information on the Kaibab National Forest, visitwww.fs.usda.gov/kaibab or @KaibabNF on Facebook and Twitter or call (928) 635-8311 for recorded fire information.

 

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