5 reasons the Juniper Fire is the ideal Arizona wildfire
It’s believed that a May 17 lightning strike started the Juniper Fire, which continues to burn in the Sierra Ancha Wilderness of the Tonto National Forest.
The wildfire has since scorched 22,962 acres, with a projected footprint of 80,000 acres, and fire officials couldn’t be more pleased.
“Right now, it’s behaving exactly how we want it to,” U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman Gabrielle Kenton said.
Why? The Juniper Fire has been deemed an “ideal wildfire," providing the ecosystem in this area with a much-needed chance of revival. Here are the reasons why.
1. Remote location
The fire started 10 miles south of Young in remote wilderness far from human habitation, making it economical, feasible and practical to let it burn.
Vegetation, moisture and cool weather in the area initially allowed the Juniper Fire to smolder for some time before it was spotted May 19 from a lookout post.
"As with any wildfire, fire managers look at a lot of factors to come up with a determination on how to deal with it," Kenton said. " ... We realized to really benefit the resources, we should allow the fire to burn."
The roads that run around the fire provide a perimeter and natural breaks, while everything inside is burning slow and taking its natural course.
Crews will begin widespread suppression efforts if the fire starts to crawl south and extend into the Sonoran Desert, where terrain does not recover well from fires.
Highway closures continue as Juniper Wildfire burns on in Arizona
2. Keeps fire crews safe
The fire is burning in rough terrain too risky to send firefighters in. If they were to get injured, it would be difficult to get them out — a situation no one wants to find themselves in.
“There isn’t a place for a helicopter or to bring in necessary tools," Kenton said. "The terrain makes walking tough, let alone walking with fire packs and tools.”
So for now, five hotshot crews and about 300 other personnel are letting the inferno do its thing. And for the most part, the fire is being perfectly well-behaved.
They have conducted a few burnout operations along the road, Kenton said, so the fire doesn't get a chance to jump over it. And if conditions continue to get hotter and drier, they'll reconfigure their plans, as fire activity can become more extreme and unpredictable.
“We want to make sure the firefighters aren’t at risk. We also want to make sure that the fire isn’t going into private property, historic or archaeological sites, or into areas with sensitive resources.”
Arizona wildfire forecast: Conditions in place for 'disastrous season'
3. Sweeps up overgrowth ‘like a janitor’
Fire is an intrinsic part of the landscape of the Southwest and returns to an area every so often, “stirring everything up.” However, fire in this area in particular has been long overdue.
Although parts of the affected forests have been burned recently, much of the area hasn't seen fire since the Forest Service began recording them, Kenton said.
This has caused overcrowding from species normally cleared out by fires and has made trees vulnerable to insects and disease. And heavy accumulation of fuel — dead vegetation on forest floors — can cause catastrophic fires in the future, threaten public safety, and impair forest and ecosystem health.
So, Kenton said, the fire "works like a janitor."
“It cleans out the debris so that, later, if a fire was to start there, it wouldn’t have as much fuel,” she said. “There wouldn’t be as much damage to the resources.”
4. Provides nutrients in the soil for new growth
The desert's arid ecosystem doesn’t allow proper decomposition of vegetation. This keeps vital nutrients, such as nitrogen, locked in.
The Juniper Fire is breaking down dead underbrush, releasing those nutrients into the soil so new vegetation can thrive. It also sterilizes the soil, almost melting it so that it becomes impermeable to fires.
Fires have a proclivity to move uphill, burning hotter and creating taller flames. To combat this, Kenton said, crews have also conducted aerial operations along the ridgetops, causing the fire to inch down and burn with a lot less intensity.
A low intensity burn is better for the ground and does not completely destroy the ecosystem it is traveling through. Instead, it helps new growth sprout.
5. Support of a community
Kenton said the nearby community in Young has been overall supportive of the controlled burn, even though closed roads in the area have been tough on residents' daily lives and businesses. Smoke has also occasionally filled the air, causing some respiratory problems, she said.
“They’ve been very hospitable. … We’ve nearly doubled the size of their population with our teams,” she said.
Officials send out daily updates and host regular community meetings. The incident commander discloses details of the fire’s behavior while a fire ecologist assigned to study this blaze explains what the fire is doing to the landscape.
"We’re always keeping a close eye at where this fire might go. The community recognizes the need. They understand that is helps them not be at high risk,” Kenton said.
“Its not if it will burn next. It is when it will burn.”