 Courtesy image. FLAGSTAFF — Cecil Fire managers will not resume firing operations on the 2,180-acre lightning-caused fire located southwest of Flagstaff, and have shifted to a strategy that will result in full containment as soon as possible. The Cecil Fire is currently 0% contained and resources assigned to the Cecil Fire include four 20-person hand crews, 13 engines, a dozer, a water tender and miscellaneous overhead for a total of 147 personnel. Fire managers for the Cecil Fire set early management objectives that included firing operations aimed at treating as much Coconino National Forest and Arizona State Trust land as possible during safe wind and weather conditions. Land treatment includes a combination of strategically-managed wildfires, planned prescribed fire projects and mechanical thinning projects that restore landscape to healthy conditions. Even without the additional treated acres that potential proposed firing operations would have provided, the 2,180-acre Cecil Fire was a “huge success,” District Ranger Matt McGrath said at last night’s public meeting. The acreage treated during Cecil Fire operations will bolster planned land treatment projects in the Flagstaff wildland-urban interface area, McGrath added. These projects include prescribed fire projects such as Crater Sinks and West Fork, both of which were implemented in June and will have additional burning this spring in locations southwest of Flagstaff. Wildland-urban interface land treatment projects help safeguard local communities against the effects of unplanned wildfire during seasons of critical fire weather, which often include heavy drought and high winds. A closure order will remain in effect despite the change in operational plans. The Cecil Fire is being managed by guidance issued in Forest Service’s 10-year Wildfire Crisis Strategy. Fire will continue to burn on the interior of the Cecil Fire, but smoke emissions will continue to diminish over time. For current information on smoke, visit the Fire and Smoke Map via airnow.gov. The lightning-caused Cecil Fire was first reported Sept. 18 and is burning in Ponderosa pine. More information on the Cecil Fire can be found at InciWeb. |