'An opportunity': Crews near Flagstaff fight Basin Fire with fire
Some wildfires are disasters, while others are opportunities.
Officials in northern Arizona used a small wildfire as a tool to burn off excess forest vegetation and prevent more catastrophic fires in the future.
Crews finished the majority of their operations to manage the Basin Fire north of Flagstaff on June 10, according to a news release from the U.S. Forest Service. Lightning caused the fire on June 5, though flames were limited, consuming only one acre in the next few days, according to federal tracker Inciweb. Since then, crews have actively shepherded and contained the fire so it would burn up excess fuels in surrounding forests.
'When we have lightning strikes that happen at the right time in the right place and when we have the resources available, we will use those lightning strikes as an opportunity to let fire fulfill its natural role in our ponderosa pine ecosystem,' said Randi Shaffer, public information officer for the Northern Arizona Type 3 Incident Management Team which was handling the operations.
Pillars of smoke drifted up from ponderosa forests as the operations got underway on June 8. Crews actively managed the fire to burn 9,145 acres of the Coconino and Kaibab National Forests and reach 42% containment, according to InciWeb. The flames had died down to a smolder by June 11, and crews went back to burn up any excess dead vegetation that the fire hadn't taken care of, officials said.
'We live in a fire-adapted ecosystem up here in northern Arizona, which means that our ponderosa pine trees really love fire. We need fire for myriad reasons," Shaffer said. "Fire is really great for the nitrogen in the soil. It's really great for cleaning up dead and down fuels, and it's a really crucial part of our environment.'
The area around the fire operations along U.S. Route 180 was closed to the public for safety reasons. The closure was expected to remain in effect for several days after June 11, according to Shaffer.
Crews burned buffer zones along perimeters around the fire using 'firing operations,' taking out any fuels the fire could use to spread once it arrived at those buffers.
Shaffer explained that crews use official guidelines to decide when and how to use wildfire as a tool. Fire crews often use 'controlled burns,' or managed fires they start on purpose, to clear out fuels and harden landscapes against future wildfire.
In this case, the crews used a naturally occurring fire to do the same thing. Fire managers ensured that the operations didn't draw resources away from emergencies or other fires where they might be needed.
'If you can burn that stuff out during times of ideal weather, you are lessening the risk of a catastrophic wildfire later in the year,' Shaffer said.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Fire crews near Flagstaff use fire to prevent other wildfires
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