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Contact: Grand Canyon - Parashant Fire Management information, 702-293-8676
News Release
Contact: Lake Mead/GC-Parashant Wildland Fire Program 702-293-8676
Date: September 5, 2023
Prescribed Fire in the Mt. Dellenbaugh Area September 7-11, 2023
ST GEORGE, UT - Visitors to the remote Mt. Dellenbaugh area of GC-Parashant National Monument should expect to encounter wildland fire operations starting September 7 through the 11, 2023 with monitoring of the treated area through September 20.
The monument is located on the Arizona Strip between Grand Canyon National Park and the Nevada border. It includes the western north rim of the Grand Canyon and the northern Grand Wash Cliffs. The prescribed fire will take place on the southwest slope of Mt. Dellenbaugh, which is just north of Twin Point. The area to be treated is approximately 227 acres of NPS land. Smoke from this prescribed fire will be seen over a wide area including Peach Springs and the Skywalk on the Hualapai Reservation.
During the 20th century natural wildfires on the Arizona Strip were suppressed. This created an excessive and unhealthy level of living and dead vegetation. This increased the risk of catastrophic wildfires. Prescribed fires are used by land managers today as a tool to prevent future catastrophic wildfires. Fire, rather than mechanical treatment, was chosen by the National Park Service as the preferred tool to return forests to a healthy state. These forests have depended for millennia on low intensity natural fires to remain healthy. This prescribed fire is one in a series in the area. It will help the forest return to a healthier plant density and increase the mix of vegetation. This includes slowing juniper encroachment, burning dead vegetation to return nutrients to the soil, and spurring new plant growth that is beneficial for animals such as deer.
Visitors in this area should anticipate smoke as well as fire trucks and other equipment on roads. While roads in the Mt. Dellenbaugh area, including the Twin Point Road 1019, will not be closed during firefighting operations, visitors are encouraged to explore other areas of Parashant to avoid smoke and possible road congestion.
Prescribed fire ignition is dependent on forecast weather conditions and the national wildland fire season preparedness level. See the attached maps for the fire treatment area.
For further information on the prescribed fire please call the Grand Canyon - Parashant Fire Management information line at 702-293-8676.
### NPS ###
Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument contains over a million acres of vast, remote and sparsely developed lands that are co-managed under a Service First Agreement by the Bureau of Land Management and National Park Service to conserve in perpetuity the values of its cultural and natural features.
Last updated: September 5, 2023