The Powell Fire Wildland Fire Use

Grand Canyon, AZ - The Powell Fire on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon is 980 acres. It is located on the Powell Plateau 15 air miles northwest of the developed area. The lightning caused fire is being managed by Wayne Cook's Interagency Fire Use Management team under a wildland fire use strategy which allows for some naturally ignited fires to burn under specific conditions for resource benefits.

The slow surface spread of the fire is creating 1-2 foot flame lengths as it burns primarily Ponderosa pine needle-litter and perennial grasses. Some increased fire behavior is expected on the steep brushy slopes off the east side of the plateau.

Craig Letz, Grand Canyon National Park Fire Use Manager and agency representative for the Park says,"We are very pleased with the safe operations on this fire to date which allows us to continue monitoring the fire. Due to its remote location on the Powell Plateau, it is not impacting visitors in the developed areas, both on the South and the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, which is very important to us."

Grand Canyon National Park is working closely with the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality to ensure air quality standards are met.

There have been no injuries on this fire since it started June 15. Fire personnel gather each day for the morning briefing and receive an important safety message from Safety Officer, Allen Farnsworth. Firefighter safety remains the number one objective on this incident.

To ensure public safety, the following closures are still in effect: North Bass Trail, Powell Plateau Trail and Swamp Ridge Road. Please contact the Park's Backcountry Information Center at (928) 638-7875 for more information on these closures. For general park information, please call (928) 638-7888.

The North Rim of the Grand Canyon remains open to visitors.

Please visit the following websites for more information and photos of the fire: http://www.nps.gov/grca/fire/ and http://www.fireuse.org/.