Due to gusty winds, crews are monitoring the progression of the fire along the ridge lines and perimeters of the fire area.
Operations: Yesterday, due to the wind events, crews patrolled along the FSRD 411 and kept the fire’s edge even. More depth was added to FSRD 200 along with monitoring the edge. Today, crews will be patrolling and holding lines as the fire progresses toward the southern fire containment line.
Fire Ecology: “Fire severity” is a term used to describe fire effects. ‘High severity’ describes where more than 75% of the dominant vegetation was consumed by the fire. High severity can be beneficial (as in grasslands or chaparral), or destructive (large areas of high severity in ponderosa pine or mixed conifer). ‘Low severity’ is when less than 25% of the dominant vegetation is consumed. For the most part, ponderosa pine and dry mixed conifer benefit from mostly low-severity fire effects, though small patches of high severity are fine.
Weather: Yesterday, gusty winds came out of the southwest along the ridge tops with increasing clouds overnight. Today will be dry with a chance of isolated showers and winds will decrease along the ridge tops.
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:
Official fire information:
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