Grand Canyon Obi Fire Grows To 1,750 Acres

The Obi Fire on the Grand Canyon National Park North Rim Grows to 1,750 Acres. The Stina Fire on Kaibab National Forest is confined to 28 Acres.

Grand Canyon, AZ - The Obi Fire is approximately 1,750 acres. Growth today was primarily in the northern and eastern portions of the fire perimeter. Light southwesterly winds throughout the day allowed fire to grow through pine needles and downed logs.

Fire behavior was active with single tree torching and surface fire of one to two foot flames where the fire was consuming dead logs. This afternoon the area received light precipitation which moderated fire behavior.

Located in the far southwest corner of the Wahalla Plateau above Obi Point, the Obi Fire started on July 21st. Fire managers plan to continue the strategy of confining and containing the lightning caused fire in a predetermined area while providing for point protection of identified sensitive natural and cultural resources.

"While crews continue prep of containment lines around Cape Royal Road, we would like to remind park visitors to drive with caution around emergency response vehicles," said Incident Commander trainee Bryan Hakanson. Visitors driving along Cape Royal Road should be aware of fire crews working in the vicinity. Motorist should turn on their headlights and slow down for emergency response vehicles.

In the past week the Kaibab Plateau has had 10 starts, all of which have been actively suppressed by fire crews. Over the past week fire crews have also contained the 17 acre Atoko Fire, the 32.5 acre Saffron Fire and confined the 28 acre Stina fire.

At this time there are no road or trail closures within the park or on the forest, however individuals looking to hike out near Obi Point should check in with the Backcountry Information Center or North Rim Visitor Center before choosing a route.

Smoke from the Obi Fire is visible from both the North and South Rims of the park. However large scale wildfires across the west may also have impacts on the canyon over the next few days. Visitors may see increased smoke or haze filling the canyon.

To see the map of haze associated with these wildfires visit, https://www.weather.gov/gjt/HazySkies_7-30-18.

For more information about air quality at Grand Canyon National Park visit, https://www.airnow.gov/index.cfm?action=airnow.local_city&cityid=31.

Current resources assigned to the fires are one Type 2IA handcrew, five engines, one helicopter, helitack, two resource advisors, and a fire ecologist. Each fire start is evaluated by fire management officials for the most appropriate management strategy. Firefighter safety, resources at risk, location of the fire, available resources, regional and national preparedness levels, and weather forecast are taken into consideration when responding to a wildfire ignition.

Please visit https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/management/firemanagement.htm for other information about wildland fire at Grand Canyon National Park or call 928-638-7819 for recorded fire information. For additional information and photos of the Obi Fire, visit https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/6030/.

For fire information on the Kaibab National Forest, visitwww.fs.usda.gov/kaibab or @KaibabNF on Facebook and Twitter or call (928) 635-8311 for recorded fire information.