Mount Emma Fire burns into Grand Canyon NP

(UPDATED at 7:07 p.m. MT, June 26, 2015)

Mount Emma Fire
Mount Emma Fire. Undated photo on InciWeb.

The lightning-caused Mount Emma Fire started June 24 in the Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument in northwest Arizona and has burned into Grand Canyon National Park. The 2,043-acre fire is in a very remote area 60 miles west of the facilities at the North Rim which are at the south end of Highway 67.

Resources on the fire include one load of smoke jumpers, one hot shot crew, one Type 2 initial attack crew, and one Type 3 helicopter. The fire is burning in open Ponderosa pine and pinyon-juniper.

Fire managers are using both direct and indirect approaches for fire suppression on the Mt. Emma fire.

“This is a suppression fire that we are taking action on with resources on the ground,” said BLM Public Affairs Officer Rachel Carnahan. “We’re using both indirect and direct suppression tactics on this fire which is necessary in this kind of remote, rugged terrain. Access to the fire is difficult so we’re working to balance fire fighter safety—which is paramount—with feasible suppression tactics.”

3D view Mount Emma Fire
A 3-D map of heat detected by a satellite on the Mount Emma Fire at 1:55 p.m. June 26, 2015. The Grand Canyon can be seen in the foreground. (click to enlarge)
Mount Emma Fire Grand Canyon
A map view of the Mount Emma Fire from directly overhead. The green line is the boundary of Grand Canyon National Park, with the park being on the right, or east side, of the line. At the time of this imagery most of the fire was inside the park.