On Saturday, favorable conditions allowed for ongoing tactical firing operations to contain a wildfire, and these operations will continue today. However, Chamberlain Trail Road (FSRD 200) will be temporarily closed until September 30, 2023, at 6 p.m., prioritizing firefighter and public safety during these operations.
Operations: Crews continued with tactical firing operations along the southern edge of the fire. With forecasted favorable conditions for today crews will continue with tactical firing operations which include ground resources conducting hand firing along the fire’s perimeter and aerial ignitions filling in unburned areas in-between the main fire as a coordinated effort progressing to the southwest and west along the 411-road ensuring to keep even with fire progression.
Fire Ecology: Another common fire adaptation that is easily seen not long after an area has burned is resprouting. Grass can be seen resprouting, sometimes within days of a fire moving through. Shrubs and trees that possess this resprouting ability may take a bit longer. Some species only resprout from the roots, stem, or trunk of the existing plant while others can sprout from buds in the branches of a tree or shrub. Near the origin of the Valentine fire, sprouts from small Gamble, Emory and gray oak that were top-killed are already almost a foot high, and larger trees that had most of their leaves scorched have already grown new leaves.
Weather: Saturday showed warm and dry conditions with a drop in humidity, the forecast showed only a 30 percent chance of thunderstorms which stayed to the north of the fire. On Sunday the relative humidity is forecasted to be 25 percent with a 30 percent chance of scattered thunderstorms northeast of the fire.
Closures: An emergency closure order for the Valentine Fire will go into effect 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: Smoke from the Valentine Fire may be visible in the surrounding areas for many days. Smoke will be heavier in the mornings as it settles into the lower elevations and will lift as temperatures increase. Smoke-sensitive individuals and people with respiratory problems or heart disease are encouraged to take precautionary measures An interactive smoke map at https://fire.airnow.gov/ allows you to zoom into your area to see the latest smoke conditions.
Fire details:
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