Residents and visitors to the area can expect to see a significant column of smoke rise from Christopher Mountain and smell smoke during the one-day prescribed fire operation. Smoke may linger and be present in the area through the end of the week.
During the day, smoke will move up and over the Mogollon Rim. Diurnal air flow in the evening hours will move residual smoke down Christopher Creek. Smoke will impact the communities of Christopher Creek, Hunter Creek, Colcord Estates, Ponderosa Estates, and other neighboring communities.
Significant moisture on the north side of Christopher Mountain, as well as lighter fuel types on its flanks, will serve as a primary safety feature that will be used to buffer the prescribed fire operation.
During the aerial ignition, signs will be posted along the roads that are likely to be affected by smoke. Motorists are urged to use caution while driving through these areas and to slow down for the safety of firefighters and the public. During this prescribed fire operation, Forest Road 117 will be closed to the public as well as the 178 trail.
“One benefit of utilizing aerial ignition is that it allows us to limit exposure and risk to our firefighters in difficult and dangerous terrain,” said Gary Roberts, fire prevention officer. “Another benefit is that it allows us to methodically and efficiently treat a very large area with prescribed fire in a less time.”
During aerial ignition, an aircraft rapidly drops fire-igniting ping-pong balls in a targeted area. The ping-pong balls contain potassium permanganate and are injected with ethylene glycol just before they are dropped. The mixture causes a chemical reaction resulting in fire ignition.
The purpose for the broadcast fire treatment is to reduce catastrophic wildfire danger by clearing heavy chaparral and brush in the area and to provide a fuel break, in the event prevailing southwest winds should ever push a wildfire northeast toward communities in the area.
“Another objective for the broadcast fire treatment is to help restore the landscape in a way that reflects historic conditions that were more grassy, savanna and park-like,” Roberts said.
Broadcast fire treatments typically continue for several days or weeks and generally are conducted when grasses have dried and cured and the weather is cooler. Windy conditions are often needed to carry flames in an open area to achieve beneficial effects desired by land managers.
Prescribed fire treatments are always dependent on optimal weather conditions before ignitions begin, such as temperature, wind speed and direction, fuel moisture content, relative humidity and other variables.
For information about prescribed fire and mechanical fuels reduction operations, please call the Payson Ranger District at 928-474-7900. Residents can also stay updated on forest prescribed fires at www.fs.usda.gov/Tonto. To report a wildland fire, the fire emergency number is 480-457-1555, or 866-746-6516.
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