17,000 Ariz., N.M. acres to be burned on purpose

The U.S. Forest Service plans to intentionally burn up to 17,000 acres of grassland on the Arizona-New Mexico border east of Douglas next month.

The Maverick burn will be one of the largest ``prescribed'' fires the Forest Service has set in the Southwest and will serve as the prototype for future large-scale burns in this region, said Larry Allen of the Coronado National Forest.

``Basically the goal is to restore fire to a more natural role, and this is a starting point.

``We're kind of learning how to do it there, pioneering this for the rest of the forest,'' said Allen, Malpais Borderlands coordinator for the Forest Service.

On the afternoon of June 11, a helicopter will drop 30 to 100 pingpong balls filled with fuel and an igniting agent. The flaming plastic spheres will be dropped at several high points within the fire zone to simulate pre-monsoon lightning fires, said Ed Encinas, project leader for the Maverick burn.

The fire is expected to burn for about a week through grass and shrubs between 4,200 and 6,500 feet above sea level. It's a mostly undeveloped area 34 miles east of Douglas.

The perimeter of the burn area encircles 17,000 acres, and the fire is expected to sweep across 5,000 to 10,000 acres within that zone, creating a mosaic of burned and unburned patches, Encinas said.

But if the fire takes off and burns past the ``primary perimeter'' that defines the intended 17,000-acre zone, the Forest Service will let it go until it hits a ``secondary perimeter'' that surrounds 40,000 acres, said Encinas, fuels specialist for the Forest Service in Douglas.

``Basically what we're trying to do is simulate a large wildfire, so we want to let the fire run its course,'' Encinas said.

``Up to 40,000 acres is allowable,'' he said.

The area to be burned is in the southern Peloncillo Mountains of southeast Arizona and southwest New Mexico. Most of the burn area is federal forest land, but there are some parcels of private and state land.

Two ranches are within the 17,000-acre perimeter, and both ranch owners support the burn, Allen said.

A century ago the region was mostly open grassland with scattered pockets of dense, woody vegetation. But overgrazing and fire suppression allowed shrubs to encroach on the grassland, reducing forage for livestock and wildlife, according to an environmental assessment prepared by the Forest Service.

Around the turn of the century the area was heavily grazed, which drastically reduced the amount of grass. Lightning-sparked wildfires could no longer sweep across the landscape and clear out accumulated debris, as they did at five- to seven-year intervals before livestock arrived.

Then, early this century, active wildfire suppression began.

``Early grazing removed fuels and started us on this trend. Later, when we got control of the grazing, this agency got pretty efficient at suppression,'' Allen said.

Today the land is still grazed, though not excessively, Allen said. One goal of the Maverick burn is to add grassland while getting rid of some shrubs, including mesquite, juniper, pinon, snakeweed, turpentine bush, whitethorn, catclaw, manzanita and live oak.

Seth Hadley owns Canyoncito Ranch, one of two ranches inside the primary fire perimeter. Most of his 16,000-acre ranch is on federal land leased from the Forest Service.

Hadley said he supports the Maverick burn because it will improve the forage for livestock and wildlife.

``Fire has been suppressed in that area for so long that the country is no longer as productive as it could be,'' he said.

``In some areas it's so thick with brush that it would be difficult to walk through or even ride a horse,'' he said. ``So it's really no longer useful for livestock or wildlife.''

The Maverick burn will cost about $8,000, Allen said.

Map by The Arizona Daily Star

The Maverick Burn