Fire grows west of Payson
The new Polles Fire out of control near Payson and Pine-Strawberry in the Tonto National Forest has grown to 600 acres since it started on Friday.
The lightning-caused Polles Fire continued to burn near Payson and PineStrawberry with 0% containment Monday morning, officials with the Tonto National Forest said.
The fire had grown to nearly 600 acres since it began on Friday.
The Polles Fire began as a result of lightning strikes from isolated thunderstorms rolling through the area, officials said.
The blaze was burning in the remote Mazatzal Wilderness west of Payson and south of Pine-Strawberry as of Monday morning.
High temperatures, windy conditions, and low humidity caused intensified fire activity over the weekend, forest officials said.
A total of four hotshot crews have been airlifted into the area, which is only accessible by helicopter, to begin suppression efforts.
They are being supported by aerial resources.
The Polles Fire currently does not threaten communities in Pine-Strawberry or Payson.
However, officials encourage nearby residences to familiarize themselves with Arizona’s Ready-Set-Go emergency program, which alerts communities of their evacuation status during wildfires.
Following are updates about three major fires burning in various places around Arizona, and what firefighters
are doing to try to contain them:
Bighorn Fire
The Bighorn Fire northwest of of Tucson has reached 75% containment after a month of burning nearly 120,000 acres, fire officials announced on Monday.
“As everyone can see from Tucson, you know, the fire is pretty much out,” said Buck Wickham, operations section chief for the Southwest Area Incident Management Team.
Fire managers on the Bighorn Fire, which began in the Catalina Mountains northwest of Tucson, achieved 75% containment on the nearly-120,000 acre blaze as of Monday morning, according to officials.
The only remaining active area of the blaze, Wickham said, is on Willow Canyon by the Catalina Highway. Due to the inaccessibility of the terrain, crews are not currently taking any more action on the area.
“Where the fire’s burning right now, it’s extremely hazardous,” Wickham said. “Our primary objective is firefighter and public safety, so that’s what our concern is.”
All other fire lines, he said, are holding. The 475 personnel working on the wildfire plan to focus on suppression repair, or bringing those fire lines into a more natural condition that limits erosion. Their goal is to continue securing the Summerhaven area, which is still closed to residents, and reopening Catalina State Park.
“That’s what we’re doing today, making concerted efforts just to kind of pick up our mess and leave the mountain as free from suppression damage as we can,” Wickham said.
Evacuation orders remain in place for the communities of Mt. Lemmon, Summerhaven, Mt. Bigelow, and the Lower Catalina Highway from Organization Ridge Road to South Willow Canyon.
Wood Springs 2 Fire
The Wood Springs 2 Fire burning on the Navajo Nation five miles west of the town of Sawmill reached 12,840 acres and 51% containment as of Monday morning.
More than four hundred personnel are working to contain the fire, which officials said was caused by lightning strike on June 27.
Sunday saw no new perimeter growth, fire authorities announced. They also warned of the potential for spot fires today due to increased temperatures, lack of rain, and low humidity.
“Crews still have plenty of work ahead of them, as they continue to build, maintain and secure fire lines in the northwest portions of the fire and along the KV powerline,” authorities said in a Monday morning statement. “Firefighters are working with local resource personnel to identify any suppression repair work needed to begin restoring the land to it’s previous condition prior to firefighters suppression actions on the fire.”
The communities Fluted Rock are on high alert, and residents should begin preparing to evacuate, said officials. Sawmill is no longer on high alert. An executive closure order for the fire area is in place. Navajo Route 7 is closed from Sawmill to Three Turkey Ruin Junction and N26 is closed from where it intersects N27 out to Route 7. Roads that remain open are N27 and N201.
Mangum Fire
Crews completed suppression repair on the Mangum Fire in northern Arizona Sunday and began backhauling supplies early Monday, said Incident Commander Pedro Valenzuela.
The fire, which burned 71,450 acres, has reached 88% containment. Fire managers expected fire activity to be minimal Monday.
There are no active evacuation orders currently in place, but residents of House Rock remain under “Ready” status.
Forest Road 22 is closed between forest roads 422 and road 429. Highways 67 and 89A are open to public travel. The North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park is now open. The U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management have also amended closure orders for the North Kaibab Ranger District and Bureau of Land Management land east of Fredonia.