Monday, crews continued with hand ignitions and aerial operations adding depth to the interior of the fire. Today, crews will continue working along the FSRD 411 westward toward FSRD 178 and 778.
Operations: Monday, crews worked the southern edge of the fire along FSRD 411, conducting hand and aerial ignitions to add depth to the interior of the fire and keeping the line even with the road. Crews used heavy equipment to create depth and make improvements to the containment line along FSRD 848. Today, Crews will continue work along FSRD 411 bringing fire along the containment line west to FSRD 178 and FSRD 788. Hand and aerial ignitions will take place on the western portion of the fire along FSRD 200 progressing toward the southwest corner.
Fire Ecology: "Fire intensity” is a reference to how fast a fire is converting fuel to heat and is closely related to the length of the flames; the longer the flames, the higher the intensity. Fire ‘severity’ is about the effects of a fire. While fire intensity and fire severity are closely related, it is possible to get high-severity effects from a low-intensity fire (deep duff smoldering for a long time in a forest) and low-severity effects from a high-intensity fire (healthy, tall grass burning in a long-leaf pine forest with a high canopy base height).
Weather: Monday was sunny and warm with highs in the upper 70’s, low 80’s and slight winds moving toward the northeast. Today, temperatures will be in the low 80’s with light wind out of the southwest.
Closures: An emergency closure order for the Valentine Fire has gone into effect as of 6 a.m. Sept. 5, 2023. The public is asked to avoid the fire area. The purpose of the closure order is to protect public health and safety during the Valentine Fire, and to protect assigned firefighting personnel engaging in wildland firefighting operations. Signs and gates will be in place to remind the public not to enter the fire area. Please visit the Alerts and Notices page for more information. https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/tonto/alerts-notices.
Safety: The health and safety of firefighters, and the public are always the highest priority. Members of the public are asked to avoid the fire area.
Smoke: The fire will produce considerable amounts of smoke due to excessive fuel accumulation. Smoke from the Valentine Fire may be visible in the surrounding areas for many days. Smoke-sensitive individuals and people with respiratory problems or heart disease are encouraged to take precautionary measures. An interactive smoke map available at, https://www.airnow.gov/wildfires/ allows you to zoom into your area to see the latest smoke conditions.
Fire details:
Size: 7,724 acres
Start Date: August 16, 2023
Cause: Lightning
Completion: 83%
Total personnel: 204
Location: 11 miles northeast of Young, Arizona and 27 miles east of Payson, Arizona
Fuels: Ponderosa Pine, Hardwood litter and timber
Information Links and Contacts:
Tonto National Forest https://www.fs.usda.gov/main/tonto/fire
InciWeb https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident-information/aztnf-valentine-fire
Fire Email [email protected]
Fire Information Line (928) 421-4579 • Office Hours: 8:00 AM – 8:00 PM