Crews continued securing the southwest corner of the fire perimeter and increased interior depth prior to the arrival of strong winds over the weekend.
Operations: Yesterday had limited aerial operations due to high winds. Hand ignitions continued along the fire line downslope towards Haigler Creek and FSRD 848. Saturday crews will continue looking for snags close to the containment lines. Due to the forecasted high winds, crews will patrol and improve containment lines throughout the weekend and monitor fire activity as it backs down-slope towards the southern containment line along Haigler Creek.
Fire Ecology: In many areas in and adjacent to the fire, surface vegetation is dominated by two non-native grass species: Weeping Lovegrass (called ‘Dude Grass’ by locals), and Yellow Bluestem. These two grasses often create ‘monocultures’ by out-competing native species. They are well adapted to fire and support surface fire behavior that is likely very similar to historic fire behavior. Along with most of the native species on the Valentine, they will benefit from the fire. Balancing the effects to desirable and undesirable species is one of the challenges of reintroducing fire to this landscape.
Weather: Friday was sunny and warm with the temperature in the high 80’s. Saturday will have temperatures in the mid to high 80’s with winds increasing throughout the weekend with gusts up to 40 MPH.
Closures: An emergency closure order for the Valentine Fire has gone into effect a nd 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. Due to changing weather conditions, smoke from other wildfires and prescribed fires may contribute to smoke impacts in the area. 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
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