InciWeb the Incident Information System: Horse Fire

INCIDENT UPDATED 9/14/2009

Approximate Location

37.369 latitude, -113.014 longitude

Incident Overview

The Horse Fire is located approximately 2 miles southeast of Lava Point, along the West Rim Trail. This fire was detected on July 7, and is a holdover from a lightning storm that passed through the area on July 4.

The fire is being managed for resource benefits under the direction of a local Type III Fire Management organization, overseen by Zion Fire and Resource Management personnel. The objectives are to keep the fire to the east side of the West Rim Trail and to allow the fire to burn into the Three Finger Mesa Prescribed Fire Burn Unit from last year to the north and into the interior of the park to the southeast. These management options will allow the fire to return to its natural role on the plateau while also reducing the risks to adjacent private lands and structures from future wildfires.

Basic Information

Incident Type	Wildfire
Cause	Lightning
Date of Origin	Saturday July 04th, 2009 approx. 01:00 PM
Location	1 1/2 miles SE of Lava Point

Current Situation

Total Personnel	7
Size	2,110 acres
Percent Contained	100%
Fuels Involved	Ponderosa Pine and mountain shrub
Fire Behavior	The fire has been showing moderate activity through most of the burning period
Significant Events	The fire is continuing to move to the east into the interior of the park. It is producing desired frource benefits in the ponderosa pine ecosystem

Outlook

Planned Actions	Firefighters continue to monitor the fire and to conduct small burnout operations when necessary.
Growth Potential	The fire has moderate potential for growth to the east. The other areas of the fire are surrounded by old burns or prescribed fire which will moderate its growth.
Terrain Difficulty	Rugged terrain with steep slopes
Remarks	For visitor safety, the West Rim Trail is closed from Lava Point to the junction with the Telephone Canyon Trail (near campsite #6). Imlay Canyon is also closed. The West Rim Trail from the Grotto to the Telephone Canyon remains open, as does the Angels Landing Trail and the Wildcat Canyon Trail.