Crews are battling two new lightning-sparked fires near Grand Canyon National Park.
The Thumb Fire was detected on Thursday, July 16th, 2020 and is located along the western rim of the Great Thumb Mesa. Grand Canyon National Park is providing interagency support to the Truxton Canon Agency and Havasupai Tribe. Approximately 285 acres in size, current fire behavior is creeping and smoldering within pinon-juniper forest. Fire managers plan to monitor the Thumb Fire.
The Tipover Fire was also detected on July 16th and is located north of Tiyo Point on the North Rim of the park. Currently the fire is estimated to be one acre in size. Fire crews are actively working to suppress the lightning ignited Tipover Fire. It is burning in ponderosa pine forest.
Smoke from the Thumb Fire is visible from the South Rim of the park. At this time there are no closures. Grand Canyon National Park is receiving interagency support from local resources from the North Zone Interagency Fire Management Organization.
Grand Canyon National Park is seeing an increase in wildfire starts due to recent monsoon activity. Each fire start is evaluated by fire management officials for the most appropriate management strategy. Firefighter safety, resources at risk, location of the fire, available resources, regional and national preparedness levels, and weather forecast are taken into consideration when responding to a wildfire ignition.
Please visit https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/management/firemanagement.htm(link is external) for additional information about wildland fire at Grand Canyon National Park. To learn more about current fires in the region and across the country, visit www.inciweb.nwcg.gov(link is external).
Keywords:
Thumb Fire, monsoon, Grand Canyon National Park, Tipover Fire, Grand Canyon
Source:
Grand Canyon National Park(link is external)
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