Stump Springs Escaped Prescribed Fire 2013

The Stump Springs prescribed fire was intended to be a routine 1-2 day event, consuming approximately 150 acres of understory consisting of vegetative litter, pinyon-juniper and sagebrush beneath a canopy of Ponderosa Pine. Burning commenced the morning of May 29 with a test fire and continued ignitions in Unit 2 of Block 3, but by mid-afternoon it became apparent that the intended target acreage was not achievable and a smaller perimeter was tied off with holding lines. Personnel returned to the site earlier on May 30th intending to get more acreage treated before afternoon winds materialized. The first spot fires appeared around noon and the wind shifted at least three more times over the next hour, throwing spots in multiple directions along the east edge of Unit 5. Holding personnel did their best to attend to the multiple slop-overs and spots. The final fire size was 272 acres, 22 acres of which were on private land and one acre which occurred on National Forest System (NFS) land outside the project boundary.