Fire personnel are working to confine the Labor Fire on the Black Mesa Ranger District of the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests.
The Labor Fire is located about 13 miles northwest of Forest Lakes, north of highway 260, surrounded by Forest Service Roads 120, 225, 35 and 34. Fire size is estimated at 30 acres. The lightning-caused fire was first observed on September 4, 2023, and is spreading at a low to moderate rate in open Ponderosa pine with grass understory. Local personnel are assigned and are working to improve fire lines. Containment priorities are to keep the fire in the above-mentioned Forest Service Road system. There are numerous roads within the larger system that can serve as check lines to limit fire spread as needed.
The weather outlooks are showing a pattern of warm and dry conditions through the weekend. Starting Monday of next week and through mid-week, chances of thunderstorms and precipitation return to the area. With these weather conditions, fire behavior is expected to remain low to moderate.
The area has prior mechanical fuels treatment and limited fire history. Fire is a natural part of the Ponderosa pine ecosystem. Forests and grasslands that evolved with fire need periodic fire to remain healthy. Absence of fire in these fire-adapted forests is a major disturbance to these ecosystems.
Considering the current fuel conditions and expected weather, fire managers intend on managing this naturally caused wildfire to reduce hazardous fuels, encourage the growth of native plants, increase species diversity in the understory, restore ecological balance and reduce the potential for future high-severity wildfires. If conditions remain as predicted, the planned area for ignitions will be approximately four-thousand acres.
When a naturally caused wildfire occurs, we bring together fire managers, resources specialists, and line officers to evaluate the fire’s location, the fuels in the area, its potential to spread over time, previous fire activity, current and project weather conditions, and the infrastructure and resources at risk to determine the proper management response.
Management actions can range from strategically burning around the perimeter of the focus area or ahead of the main fire to prevent rapid fire spread outside the designated planning area and maintain low to moderate fire behavior.
Smoke is expected to be visible in the coming days as the Labor Fire continues to burn. Air quality information is available at https://www.airnow.gov/
Further information will be provided as it becomes available. Visit the A-S National Forests website at https://www.fs.usda.gov/asnf and follow us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/apachesitgreavesnfs