SOUTHERN UTAH — According to information from the BLM posted on inciweb.gov, the Mt. Emma Fire has grown to 3,849 acres Sunday as of 10 a.m. and firefighting efforts are continuing on the blaze, which began earlier in the week and was caused by lightning.
The BLM states the fire saw minimal activity through Saturday night, but that daytime weather often dictates fire activity.
“During the day, that’s when the Relative Humidity (RH) goes down and temperatures go up—that’s when the fire becomes active,” Chris Henry, Incident Commander for the Mt. Emma Fire, said Sunday from the Incident Command Post on Mt. Trumbull.
Sunday’s fire activity included creeping with some isolated torching. The fire is currently 2 miles from a summer cabin, but fire managers have a plan in place to protect the structure and are communicating with the owners. The fire is burning on remote, rugged terrain in Grand Canyon National Monument, so there are very few structures in the area.
The release states that due to increased traffic of fire staff and operation services traveling to and from the area, fire managers are requesting the public’s help in ensuring safety on backcountry roadways in the vicinity of the fire.
“We’d like to ask for the public’s help in ensuring firefighter safety and request that all traffic near the area slow down and remain cautious and mindful of increased traffic on the roads en route to the Mt. Emma fire,” stated BLM Arizona Strip District Public Affairs Officer Rachel Carnahan.
As of Sunday, a Type 3 Incident Management Team was managing the fire and resources included one Type 4 engine, one Type 3 engine, one Hot Shot crew, one Type 2 Initial Attack crew, an air tanker and an air attack.
The fire is burning in open Ponderosa pine, pinyon and juniper.
