Northern Rockies Interagency Fire Use Management Team Takes The Lead On The Powell Fire

Grand Canyon, AZ - Wayne Cook's Interagency Fire Use Management Team will take command of the Powell Fire today at 6:00 p.m.

The Powell Fire, which began June 15, on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, has grown to approximately 446 acres as of 7:00 p.m. June 19, and is being managed under a Wildland Fire Use Strategy which promotes ecosystem restoration. According to Jim Kitchen, Incident Commander on the Grand Canyon National Park Fire and Aviation Management Team "this fire is doing exactly what we want it to do." The fire management staff is working in close cooperation with the Kaibab National Forest staff on this event since the fire is located near the boundary between the forest and the park.

Personnel continue to monitor the fire behavior and smoke impacts. Precautions are being taken to avoid adverse impacts to cultural resources and other environmental concerns.

The use of fire as a resource management tool requires a combination of science-based analysis and planning to safely and effectively manage the fire. Cook's team includes fire behavior analysts and technical specialists who will use the latest fire behavior modeling technology to provide information for decision making to meet daily and long-term management objectives.

The North Rim of the Grand Canyon is open to the public, however, the temporary closure of the North Bass, Powell Plateau Trail, and Swamp Ridge Road remains in effect to ensure public safety and firefighter safety.

For more information about these closures, please contact the Park's Backcountry Information Center at (928) 638-7875 or for general park information, please call (928) 638-7888.

Note: Additional information can be found on the NPS Fire News website at www.nps.gov/fire/news/