Summary
Zeke Lunder provided a midday update on the Dragon Bravo and Monroe Canyon fires, using satellite imagery from the European Space Agency’s Sentinel-2. The Dragon Bravo fire, active on the western flank, has seen significant firefighting efforts, including drone-assisted ignitions. The fire has advanced a mile and a half in 12 hours and is expected to meet the White Sage fire soon. The Monroe Canyon fire, with high severity on the south flank, is also spreading rapidly. Both fires face severe weather conditions, with strong winds expected to exacerbate the situation. Zeke emphasized the evolving use of drones in fire management and the complexities of fire severity and landscape impact.
Today’s Lookout Livestream
Dragon Bravo Fire Update
- Zeke Lunder introduces the update, mentioning new satellite imagery from the European Space Agency’s Sentinel satellite.
- The imagery shows the effects of the Dragon Bravo Fire since its ignition, almost a month ago, with dark green indicating surviving trees, red for burnt areas, and bright orange for active flames.
- Firefighting efforts appear to have been generally ineffective for the majority of the fire, with the fire mainly extinguished naturally where it crept to the edge of the canyon.
- Drones were used to light areas in the Kaibab National Forest to help prevent the fire from reaching the Kaibab Lodge.
Firefighting Strategies and Conditions
- The fire has been active on the western flank, with intense heat and severe conditions.
- The fire’s head has run a mile and a half in the last 12 hours and is expected to continue spreading.
- The fire is likely to eventually meet the White Sage Fire, which is about 12 to 15 miles away.
- The use of drones for ignitions is a new and evolving field, with mixed outcomes.
Impact of Fire on Landscape and Wildlife
- The fire has had severe effects on the landscape, with high fire severity in some areas.
- Different fire regimes affect different forest types, with some forests burning more frequently and others less frequently.
- The fire’s impact on wildlife, such as deer and elk, is complex, with many wildlife benefiting from the regrowth and expansion of aspen forests following a hot fire.
- The economic impact of fires varies, for example a high-severity wildfire may have less of an economic impact in Northern Arizona than it would in a place with a more robust timber industry, like Northern California or the Pacific Northwest.
Monroe Canyon Fire Update
- The Monroe Canyon Fire is calm in the middle sections, but active on the southwest and north and northeast flanks.
- The fire is making an aligned run in the southwest corner with south winds, burning up fuel downwind.
- Aspen stands often burn with a lower fire severity, while areas with heavy timber have high severity.
- The north end of the fire has spread over half a mile in the last 12 hours, with strong south winds driving it.
Strategic Fire Management and Future Outlook
- Operations Maps for today show potentially-strategic road and power line alignments to manage the NW corner of the fire, NE of the town of Monroe.
- The fire is expected to continue spreading anywhere it is currently active and adjacent to contiguous conifer forest, with strong winds expected to continue call the shots.