Cape Horn Fire management changes hands
BAYVIEW - The Cape Horn Fire has been completely contained, so the Type II incident management team turned over control to a Type III team for remediation work.
Andy Mandell's Arizona Central West Zone Incident Management Team took over management of the Cape Horn Fire on Monday morning.
While the fire is 100 percent contained, it still needs to be managed to maintain and improve existing fire lines, recover equipment used in containment and mopping up the fire, and perform limited habitat repair on part of the fire and dozer lines.
Mandell, the incident commander, said in a press release that the main objectives of the team will be to rehabilitate and improve the hand lines, some dozer lines and some of the more remote access roads.
"Mopping up 100 percent of hand lines involves putting out all remaining smoke and heat along the fire line to a depth of 200 feet or greater along the perimeter" he said.
"Water bars will be created at strategic places along the hand lines placed along the steep and rugged ridge sides."
Water bars are ditches created to change the flow of water to control erosion.
Rehabilitating the hand lines also involve covering them with debris or camouflaging the lines to help prevent erosion and allow the line "to heal" rather than becoming the latest hiking or bike trail.
The roads to be improved are the 22 road, the logging road system and Cherokee Road. Dozer lines rehabilitation or improvements are being accessed currently for some appropriate but limited mediation measures.
Brad Johnson, a trainee on the incident command team, said the public needs to know that there will be isolated pockets of unburnt fuels burning or flare-ups for weeks within the interior boundary of the fire line.
"Because of the steep terrain, unstable rocks and fire-weakened trees, firefighters will not be placed in harm's way to put out these isolated flare-ups that have no danger of jumping the containment lines or threatening homes and outbuildings." he said in the release.
"It is our team's goal to provide firefighters and public safety by utilizing lookout stations, communications, escape routes, safety zones," Mandell said in a press release. "We do this to implement risk management practices to ensure that 'everyone goes home.'"
As certain objectives are met, the team will release resources and downsize until it is ready to hand off the fireground to local fire departments and land agencies, the release said.