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Contact: Shannan Marcak, 928-638-7958
GrandCanyon, AZ. --Burnout operations along the W-4 roadhave been completed, and pile burning along Highway 67 is finished. Fuels will continue to burn within the PointFire until rainfall or snow extinguishes all flames. Light smoke may remainvisiblein and aroundtheCanyon over the next several weeks. The current sizeof the Point Fireis estimated to be 3,529 acres. The Point Sublime Road remains closed at this time.
Lightning from scattered isolated thunderstormshas resulted in some new fire starts, most of which have been contained or extinguished. The Woolsey Fire, which was discovered on August 27 near Point Imperial, is approximately 10 acres in size and is being monitored while fire managers assess whether or not the fire could be managed to achieve resource and protection objectives. This fire is not within the Point Complex.
Point Fire Facts:
Start Date: July4, 2011
Location: Approximately10 miles west of the North Rimdeveloped areain thevicinityof WallaValleyand Point Sublime.
Fuels: PonderosaPinewith occasional patchesofmixed conifer and areas ofgrassand sage. Management Objectives: ThePointFireis beingmanaged to achievemultipleobjectives: ″ Resourceobjectives for thePointFireincludemaintainingfirein a firedependant ecosystem, reducinghazardousaccumulations of forest fuelsand recyclingof forest nutrients. ″ Objectives forthe Point Fireincludeprotectionof sensitive cultural resources andcritical wildlifehabitat. Closures: The W-4 Road, also known as the Point SublimeRoad, remainsclosed until furthernoticefrom its junction withtheW-1 Road, out to and includingPoint Sublime. SmokeImpacts: Duringperiods ofincreasedfire activity, smokefrom thePointFireis visible from highway64 asfar south as Valle, South Rimviewpoints, the Rim Trail, highway67, the North rim entrancestation and someNorth Rimviewpoints. Coordination with theArizonaDepartment of Environmental Qualityis ongoing. Additional news releases regarding the Point Fire will only be distributed if significant changes in the fire's status or behavior occur.
To follow thePointFire's progress or to seephotos and maps ofthe fire, pleasevisit thefire's web site at http://inciweb.org/incident/2408/. To learn more about firemanagement in Grand Canyon National Park,pleasego to http://www.nps.gov/grca/parkmgmt/firemanagement.htm.
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Last updated: February 24, 2015