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National Fire Plan Success Story

Marsh Creek Prescribed Burn
Pleasant Valley Ranger District, Tonto National Forest, Arizona
April - June, 2008

Project Description

The Marsh Creek Prescribed Burn on the Tonto National Forest, Pleasant Valley Ranger District (RD), was authorized to treat 3,200 acres of natural fuels in order to reduce the fire hazard, improve water yield, forage production, and improve wildlife habitat. Communities that will benefit from protection from potential loss due to catastrophic wildfire as a result of this project include: the Bar X and Marsh Creek Ranches; the town of Young; Colcord Estates, Ponderosa Springs, Walnut Creek, and Haigler Creek subdivisions. This project will provide an anchor for future projects to decrease the risk of loss due to wildfire in and around the community of Young, Arizona.

This burn was conducted in a mixed community of timber (ponderosa pine), chaparral (oak scrub), and pinyon-juniper grasslands.

Implementation Plan and Accomplishment to Date

The project was initiated on April 1, 2008 and completed on June 10, 2008. Tonto National Forest resources from the Pleasant Valley RD, and each of the other five ranger districts, as well as cooperating personnel from the Pleasant Valley Volunteer Fire Department, utilized spring burning conditions to blackline the perimeter of the project area, securing it for later interior ignition, April 1-10. Engines from the Pleasant Valley RD, Cave Creek RD, Mesa RD, Tonto Basin RD, and the Pleasant Valley Hotshot Crew ignited the acreage within the previously blacklined perimeter, June 5-7.

The hotter, drier conditions for this portion of the project allowed achievement of the primary objectives of the burn: reducing the live and dead chaparral communities and reducing heavy dead and down fuels in the timbered areas of the project. Completing this project in June, during the fire season, achieved ecological benefits and improved forest health in the project area.

In addition, June operations were conducted while the Tonto National Forest was under fire restrictions. This provided an additional educational opportunity outreach with the local community and forest users on the differences between managed fire and wildfires. The message included the need to utilize fire as a management tool year-round when opportunities present themselves under optimal conditions to meet management objectives and reduce the risk of wildfire.

Contact

John Thornburg, DFMO, Pleasant Valley Ranger District, 928-462-4300, jthornburg@fs.fed.us.