InciWeb
Wildfire
Prescribed Fire
Burned Area
Response
Other
Beginning in early April 2022, a planned ignition of slash piles was conducted on the Dixie National Forest. These piles were the result of a Stewardship Timber Sale (in partnership with the Mule Deer Foundation) to improve wildlife habitat, promote aspen regeneration, and reduce fuel accumulations. Crews conducted the ignition in 2-4 feet of snow when conditions were ideal to burn.
To ensure objectives of the project were met, the piles were monitored while residual fuels were consumed. Crews continued to monitor the piles throughout the months of April, May, and June, frequently and as road conditions allowed. Increased monitoring occurred during periods of sustained hot, dry, and windy weather. Fire personnel assessed the burn on June 15 and developed a plan for mop-up of residual smokes. On June 16 and 17, fire personnel conducted an extensive and thorough mop-up, including gridding the interior and perimeter of the fire, finding no heat or visible smoke.
An initial investigation determined the fire to be human caused, with a high probability that a significant wind event on June 18 caused the reignition of unburned fuel inside the perimeter, which then spread outside of the planned boundary.
The primary objective of the Forest Service, the Incident Management Team, and Cooperators is the successful full suppression of the Left Fork Fire, while minimizing negative effects on values in the area.
| Current as of | Sat, 07/02/2022 - 16:12 |
|---|---|
| Incident Type | Wildfire |
| Cause | Human |
| Date of Origin | |
| Location | 10 Miles Southwest of Bryce Canyon City in Kanab Creek Drainage |
| Incident Commander | Jeremy Kiesling |
| Coordinates |
37° 29' 0'' Latitude
-112° 21' 28
'' Longitude
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| Total Personnel: | 416 |
|---|---|
| Size | 4,239 Acres |
| Percent of Perimeter Contained | 100% |
| Estimated Containment Date | 2022-07-01 00:00:00 |
| Fuels Involved | Fire weakened hazard trees and logging slash. |
| Significant Events | Stump holes continue burning out, which is causing interior smoldering and creeping. |
| Planned Actions |
Utilize assigned resources to complete and hold, improve, and patrol direct fireline. Continue suppression repair plan implementation, including dozer line and hand line repair. Perform invasive species cleaning of equipment and demobilize excess equipment. Transfer of command from Great Basin Team 6 (IMT2) to Color Country Team 2 (IMT3) will occur on 07/03/2022 at 0600. |
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| Projected Incident Activity |
Smoldering stump holes and heavy fuels continue to consume resulting in occasional isolated torching. |
| Weather Concerns | An increasingly warm and dry southwesterly flow brought elevated fire weather conditions to the Left Fork fire area on Saturday. This drying trend allowed relative humidity values to fall to near 20 percent, while temperatures warmed into the upper 70s to low 80s under partly cloudy skies. Southwesterly winds strengthened during the day, with gusts in the 18 to 25 mph range recorded on area RAWS stations during the afternoon hours. Elevated fire weather conditions will continue across the area Sunday, as southwesterly flow continues to strengthen, and the air mass continues to trend drier. These southwest winds will once again increase across the fire by late morning as the overnight inversion breaks, allowing for gusts into the 25 to 30 mph range through the afternoon hours. After a night of marginal humidity recovery above 8500 feet, afternoon relative humidity will fall into the 15 to 19 percent range across the fire. Temperatures will trend slightly downward, reaching the mid to upper 70s. Breezy southwest winds along with a very dry air mass will support critical fire weather conditions over the fire on Monday, as winds again gust into the 25 to 30 mph range and afternoon humidity values fall into the 12-15 percent range. Dry and breezy conditions will continue into the day Tuesday, before high pressure brings a warming trend and lighter winds by midweek. |
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