Rainbow Fire proves excellent example of monitoring tactics reaching management objectives for Grand Canyon’s north rim

The Rainbow Fire burned understory in the Ponderosa pine forest on Grand Canyon's North Rim.  Brannfors/NPS

The Rainbow Fire started on July 24, 2023, from a lightning strike on the Rainbow Plateau, on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. The North Rim has a long history of prescribed fires and wildfires helping to create a healthy ecosystem. The Rainbow Fire was located within two prior fire perimeters: the 2019 Saffron Fire and the 2001 Swamp Fire. “The Rainbow Fire is a great example of a fire occurring in an area that is both adapted to and regularly exposed to fire,” said Grand Canyon National Park Fire Management Officer, Ed Waldron.

Park and fire managers established management action points which are points that when reached would trigger a different action or tactic for response. These action points were focused on protecting resources and providing for firefighter safety. Because the fire continued to move slowly burning through ground vegetation, it was managed as a low complexity incident with only one to five staff periodically patrolling, mapping, and monitoring the fire with little need to intervene with additional management actions. These tactics provide safety for firefighters in lieu of active fire suppression tactics which would put firefighters lives at risk and serve no benefit to natural resources.

The Rainbow Fire burned with low intensity but enough heat to consume heavier dead and down fuels.  Brannfors/NPS

Some ground-level vegetation had regrown in the 13 years since the 3400-acre Saffron Fire, but in over 39 days, the Rainbow Fire crept and smoldered across 115 acres of Ponderosa Pine understory reducing the ground vegetation that could carry fire. The fire burned through light fuels with low intensity but carried enough heat to smolder through heavier fuels, like downed trees, within its perimeter. The benefits of having fire return to this area includes reducing hazardous fuels, promoting forest regeneration, improving wildlife habitat, and restoring a more open forest understory.

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