Moisture and expected wetting rains in the coming days may slow crews down, but work will continue as conditions allow. Resources continue to make progress utilizing hand and aerial ignitions.
Operations: Yesterday, crews were able to continue hand ignition along the Colcord road (FSRD 291) and progress west to the 411 road before pausing operations due to weather. Crews conducted tactical firing operations on the west side of the Young Road (FSRD512) where they were able to hang up ignitions on the powerline access road (FSRD 411 C) where they plan to conduct aerial ignitions today should conditions allow. Crews will continue to clean up interior pockets and work west along the 291 as ground fuels dry out after the moisture received yesterday. Resources also responded to an Initial Attack near Christopher Creek Campground which was contained at approx. 1.6 acres.
Fire Ecology: Historically, many wildfires would burn for weeks or even months. During that time, there would be changes in the weather, just like we're seeing on the Valentine Fire, that change fire behavior and fire effects. The plants continue to grow as well, so the effects are different where the fire began burning than they will be where the fire finishes burning. For example, some seeds that fell to the ground before the fire burned through may burn up in the fire. Seeds that fall after the fire has burned, will have an extra shot of nutrients when they germinate.
Weather: The fire area received some precipitation yesterday on the northwestern perimeter causing a pause in fire operations moving west. Today, there is expected to be more cloud cover and a slight chance for scattered afternoon precipitation in the area. Beginning early next week, a system moving in around Tuesday, will come with increased chances of wetting rains and thunderstorms.
Closures: An emergency closure order for the Valentine Fire went 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 amount of smoke due 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 at https://www.airnow.gov/wildfires/ allows you to zoom into your area to see the latest smoke conditions.
Fire details:
Size: 1491 acres
Start Date: August 16, 2023
Cause: Lightning
Completion: 40%
Total personnel: 200
Location: 11 miles northeast of Young, Arizona and 27 miles east of Payson, Arizona
Fuels: Ponderosa Pine, Hardwood litter and timber
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 – 8:00PM