March 29, 2024 3:42 AM
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Arizona Wildfires update (Part 2)

Map: Telegraph Fire as of Monday

Backbone Fire

Current as of 6/21/2021, 10:32:03 AM
Incident Type: Wildfire
Cause: Lightning
Date of Origin: Wednesday June 16th, 2021 approx. 11:30 PM
Location: 11 miles west of Pine, Arizona.
Incident Commander: Alan Sinclair, SW Area Type 1 Commander
Total Personnel: 324
Size: 32,757 Acres
Estimated Containment Date: Thursday July 15th, 2021 approx. 12:00 AM
Fuels Involved:  Pinyon juniper, chaparral, brush, grass, cactus.

Backbone Fire activity has increased to the north and west, moving towards Needle Rock Ranch and State Route 260. Residents of Camp Verde are seeing large smoke column this afternoon as winds push to the south. Water scooping aircraft is being used to keep the west side of the fire in-check, while resources on the ground put in hand and mechanical line.

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West Chev Fire (near Chevlon Lake)

Current as of 6/21/2021, 6:31:45 PM
Incident Type: Wildfire
Cause: Lightning
Date of Origin: Saturday June 19th, 2021 approx. 01:00 PM
Total Personnel: 10
Size: 1,000 Acres

The West Chev Fire is located 13 miles from the Forest Lakes community on the Black Mesa Ranger District of the Apache-Sitgreaves NFs. There is significant potential for rapid fire growth due to abundant fuels in the area. Woods Canyon Lake is closed and under evacuation.

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Wyrick Fire

The Wyrick Fire near Heber was approximately 5,700 acres Monday morning.  Due to the heat and dry conditions, the fire remained active on all fronts. Predominate winds out of the west southwest, pushed the fire mostly to the east. A Type 2 Incident Management Team under the command of Mark Bernal is scheduled to assume management of the fire Tuesday, June 22.

Closures and Evacuations: The Wyrick Fire has advanced toward Heber, and reached a starting point for setting evacuations into motion in Heber and Overgaard. Current status as of 3 pm:

Areas in READY Status: Overgaard south of Highway 260 High Country Pines in Heber Kendall Ranch / Camp Ponderosa   Areas in SET Status: Areas in Heber not identified as Ready or Go status Chevelon Ranches and Retreat Communities in Overgaard south of Highway 277 and North of Highway 260   Areas in GO Status: Antelope Valley Despain Ranch Heber and Overgaard North of 260 AND 277

Smoke: Smoke from the Wyrick Fire will disperse to the north, northeast and  settle into the local drainages at night and in the early morning. An interactive smoke map at https://fire.airnow.gov/ allows you to search for current smoke information. For information on the Wyrick Fire see InciWeb: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/7558/ and Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests website at www.fs.usda.gov/asnf.

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Telegraph Fire

Current as of 6/21/2021, 2:55:38 PM
Incident Type Wildfire
Cause Human-under Investigation
Date of Origin Friday June 04th, 2021 approx. 01:30 PM
Location One and a half miles southeast of Superior
Incident Commander Shawn Sheldon, Pacific Northwest Incident Management Team 6

Total Personnel 692
Size 180,566 Acres
Percent of Perimeter Contained 67%
Estimated Containment Date Wednesday June 30th, 2021 approx. 12:00 PM

Evacuation status for El Capitan East and West and Six Shooter and Icehouse Canyons have changed from “SET” to “READY.”

Favorable weather conditions resulted in minimal fire growth Monday. Many resources were focused on the southeast corner of the fire on Mescal Mountain where the fire remains active. Helicopters were used to check the fire as it spread southeast into lighter grass and sparse brush.

Smoke may be visible as fire continues to back down upper Kellner and Icehouse Canyons and as pockets of unburned vegetation are consumed within the fire perimeter. Firefighters continue to patrol the Ray and Troy Mine areas, as well as communities along Dripping Springs Road and State Route 177 and mop up any hot spots that may flare up.

At this stage of the fire, you may hear our team talking about “mopping up” the burned area, but what does this mean? “Mop up” refers to actions taken to extinguish or remove pockets of burning material within the fire perimeter, near control lines or values at risk, to make sure the fire does not spread outside of the contained perimeter or impact values.

This can include things like breaking apart smoldering debris, felling standing dead trees that are holding heat, or using fire engines to extinguish small flare ups. Mop up is not necessary in many of the grassy fuel types in the Telegraph Fire that burn out quickly, but firefighters are utilizing these techniques when flare ups occur near values at risk.

Evacuation status as of 5 p.m. June 21: “GO” – Dripping Springs, Wind Spirit, Hagen Ranch, Slash S Ranch, Government Springs.  Evacuation status” READY” – Superior, Globe, Miami, Claypool, Central Heights, Pinto/Carlotta, Skill Center, Fairgrounds, Schulze Ranch, Ray Mine, Top-of-the-World, Bellevue, Oak Flat, Beverly Hills, Riverside, Kearny, Winkelman, Hayden, Battle Axe area, El Capitan East and West, Six Shooter and Icehouse Canyons.

Fire Restrictions and Closures: https://wildlandfire.az.gov/fire-restrictions

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Pinnacle Fire 

Current as of 6/21/2021, 10:17:20 AM
Incident Type: Wildfire
Cause: Under Investigation
Date of Origin: Thursday June 10th, 2021 approx. 12:00 PM
Location: 18 miles south of Bylas, AZ
Incident Commander: IC Dave Gesser, Deputy IC Lance Elmore
Incident Description: Fire Is Actively Burning In Grass And Brush.
Total Personnel: 450
Size: 34,192 Acres
Percent of Perimeter Contained: 26%
Significant Events:
Active, Wind Driven, Running, Spotting. Fire continues to be active with high temperatures and low relative humidity which makes the fuels available to burn actively.

Firefighters continued to be challenged for the second consecutive day yesterday by strong winds. Coming from the west and northwest, winds gusting to over 40 miles per hour in red flag conditions pushed the fire eastward in the Black Rock Ranch area.  Assigned firefighters worked to defend constructed fire lines with burnouts, bull dozers, aircraft delivered retardant, and water drops. Despite high wind, these tactics were successful.  Crews were able to keep the fire south of the Black Rock and 284 roads, as well as working to protect the values at risk within that area. The night shift continued that work into this morning.

The eastern and southern perimeters remained intact and minimal fire behavior was observed.  Resources along that perimeter are patrolling and cold trailing to detect any heat that might remain.

The active fire behavior observed Saturday on the western perimeter was moderated Sunday as the westerly winds pushed the fire back into its already burned footprint. There are interior hot spots that were being monitored last night in this area by engines and assigned crews.Today’s weather is forecast to be continued hot and dry with more red flag conditions and winds similar to yesterday.

Currently assigned resources include 5 hand crews, 4 helicopters, 28 engines, 11 water tenders, and 4 dozers. Resource numbers are adjusted as operational needs are determined daily and within the constraints of competition from other fires across Arizona.Smoke: The Pinnacle Fire is producing significant smoke. For current air quality information go to: https://wildlandfiresmoke.net/outlooks/EastCentralArizona   and    https://fire.airnow.gov

Evacuations: GO: All Black Rock Road area residences, and all residences in the Klondyke-Aravaipa corridor in Graham County.For “Ready, Set, Go” information follow this link: https://wildlandfire.az.gov/ and https://ein.az.gov/ready-set-go.

Closures:
 The existing FAA designated Temporary Flight Restriction for the fire area has again been adjusted to compensate for fire growth. The Coronado National Forest, Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the Bureau of Land Management have closure orders in effect. For specific closure information visit the following agency links: https://Coronadonationalforest/Facebook.com  and   https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/closures/7523/

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A small fire called the Snake Fire has been spotted, but it is too small for the map at this time.

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