Harrison Fire Update: Smokey Bear Ranger District, Lincoln National Forest

Fire Name: The Harrison Fire

Incident Detected:  May 17, 2021

Location: Capitan Mountain Wilderness, Kyle Harrison Canyon

Jurisdiction: Lincoln National Forest, Smokey Bear Ranger District

Cause:  Lightning

Size:  9 acres

Incident Type: Wildfire

Values at Risk: None

The Harrison Fire, which started on May 17, 2021, is now 9-acres. The fire is burning in the Capitan Wilderness Area approximately 5 miles to Highway 246. There are no values at risk (i.e., homes, infrastructure, etc.) in the area. Firefighters are monitoring the fire and are installing a mobile weather station to track the temperatures and winds near the fire, which is burning in an area without trails or roads. The fire is burning in the 2004 Peppin Fire scar and near the 2019 Pine Lodge Fire scar. Wildfire has been a part of the ecosystem for thousands of years and plays a critical role in forest health. Looking back hundreds of years, fires typically burned in the Lincoln National Forest on average every 15-35 years. Ideally, in a forest, you also have various age ranges in trees from young to old. This diversity in age range can be knocked off balance after a high-intensity fire like the Peppin Fire when new growth all started simultaneously. This fire will improve forest health by providing a diverse age range of tree and vegetation growth post-fire.