SUNDAY EVENING UPDATE, August 7, 2011: Fire Information Officer reported this fire is now 100% contained, final acreage assessed involved in this fire remains at 9,800. Type III Incident Management Team has been released, with host units remaining to monitor until it is declared out. Unless this takes a turn otherwise, this will be final update of St. George News.
UPDATE August 6, 2011 9:00 p.m. This fire is now assessed to be 9,800 acres in size. Type II Incident Management Team assisted in organizing the fire prevention today, but was released at 6 p.m. The Type II Incident Management Team is continuing its work to suppress the fire. The Fire Information Officer, Maureen Oltrogge, said that significant progress was made yesterday and last night. The fire is now 60% contained.
GRAND CANYON, Ariz. -Now burning 8,000 acres at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon is a wildfire approximately six miles east of Meadview, Arizona and fifty miles north of Kingman, Arizona. The fire was caused by lightning on August 3, 2011, originating on private land adjacent to the park but quickly spread across the park boundary, and is now named the New Water Fire.
Additional lands affected by this fire include those managed by the Bureau of Indian Affairs –Truxton Cañon Agency, the Bureau of Land Management – Kingman Area Field Office, and the Arizona Division of Forestry.
The New Water Fire is being fueled by grass, brush and pinyon juniper, with 30 percent containment last estimated yesterday evening; at that time, full containment was being projected for August 8.
The uncontained east flank of the fire is approximately two miles west of Grand Canyon West on the Hualapai Indian Reservation, which is the only value at risk, said Maureen Oltrogge of the Grand Canyon National Park Public Affairs Office.
Oltrogge said that an interagency type III incident management team met for debriefing on the fire today and is expected to take over the fire fighting effort by this evening.
Our efforts to reach the Hualapai Indian Reservation for comment are pending.