Arizona Fire Manager Says Tight Schedule Caused Prescribed Burn To Jump Line

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) -- The tight schedule given for a prescribed burn at Grand Canyon National Park last month apparently contributed to the fire spreading beyond containment lines near the developed South Rim.

``In hindsight, I did not give us enough time,'' said the park's fire manager Dan Oltrogge.

A prescribed burn started on May 5 in the canyon spread beyond the intended 1,665 acres, consuming an additional 235 acres near the South Rim's Grand Canyon Village before being contained.

Oltrogge said the prescribed burn crews started to ignite the fire at 6 a.m. and hoped to have it finished by 9 a.m. But weather and mechanical problems delayed the work into late morning.

By that time, conditions were changing with more wind and heat, Oltrogge said.

``This was a high-intensity burn area,'' Oltrogge said. ``This is when things started lining up. The temperature was going up and the relative humidity dropped in the single digits ... I thought I had four to six hours (of good conditions to do the burn). I was wrong.''