Warmer weather has aided firefighting efforts along the southern and western borders of the Valentine Fire, with tactical firing operations making substantial progress. Wednesday, crews will focus on further ignitions along the west side and continued monitoring of the fire's interior.
Operations: Yesterday, conditions allowed crews to continue hand and aerial ignitions on the south perimeter along FSRD 411 moving towards FSRD 200. Tactical firing operations continued down Chamberlain Trail (FSRD 200) on the west perimeter towards the FSRD 848, making good progress. Today, crews will continue with hand and aerial ignitions on the west side along the Chamberlin Trail Road (FSRD 200). Crews will continue monitoring the fire within the interior along the ridgelines and drainages.
Fire Ecology: A unique species growing in the vicinity of the Valentine fire is Chihuahuan pine. Chihuahuan pine has many fire adaptations and fire-associated regeneration strategies. After a fire, it regenerates by producing abundant seeds that are dropped from serotinous cones to the newly burned forest floor. It’s protected from fire by thick bark and, even when the crowns burn, it has the ability to send out new shoots to regrow. Fire may even allow Chihuahuan pine to become more dominant by eliminating less fire tolerant species.
Weather: On Tuesday, temperatures were in the mid 70’s with winds out of the southwest. Wednesday’s forecast calls for temperatures hovering around 75 degrees with variable winds out of the southwest.
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