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Contact: Kirby-Lynn Shedlowski, 928-638-7958
Grand Canyon, Ariz. – Today's weather brought higher temperatures, lower relative humidity and gustier winds, which tested containment lines. Late afternoon winds caused four spot fires east of the W-4 Road containment line. A plan was in place in anticipation of the predicted weather and potential spot fires. Firefighters, aided by engines, responded and are working to contain the spot fires across the W-4 Road and south of the Kanbowbitz Cabin. These challenging weather conditions are expected to continue over the next few days. The fire is now estimated to be 1,550 acres. Due to today's weather conditions, firefighters were unable to conduct any additional burnout operations on the containment lines. They were able to improve and strengthen the previously constructed lines along the W-4 Road to the north and south of the cabin. Firefighters also mopped up along the southern portion of the W-4 Road where burnouts were conducted yesterday. They are also continuing to monitor the natural progress of the fire to the south and west where it is benefiting the landscape. Today, some of the resources on the Galahad Fire, including firefighters and engines, were sent to help with a new fire start on the Kaibab National Forest, just to the north of Grand Canyon National Park. These resources will return to the Galahad Fire tonight. There are still over 135 interagency personnel assigned to the Galahad Fire and additional resources are being ordered. Two road closures are in effect for public and firefighter safety; the W-4 Road is closed from the junction of the FS268B road south to Point Sublime and the W-1 Road, also known as the Point Sublime Road, is closed from the W-4 junction, east to the western end of the Basin. The lightning-caused Galahad Fire was discovered on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park on Friday, May 23, 2014 on the Walla Valley Peninsula, west of the main park road. This fire is being managed for resource and protection objectives including returning fire to a fire-adapted ecosystem in order to maintain forest health and protection of sensitive cultural resources and wildlife habitat. You can follow the progress of this fire as well as view maps and pictures on Inciweb at https://inciweb.nwcg.gov. For additional fire information, please call 928-638-7819 (recorded message) or follow @GrandCanyonNPS on Twitter.
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Last updated: February 24, 2015