YFD, other agencies battle fire along river
Blaze burned 50 acres, is expected to be fully contained later this week
A brush fire that burned approximately 50 acres along both sides of the Colorado River near Riverside Park in Yuma on Sunday is about 50 percent contained and isn’t expected to be completely out until later this week, according to information provided by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
BIA spokesperson Mike Watson-Quiroz explained that firefighters have stopped the blaze from spreading any farther and are now putting out hot spots still burning within its interior. He added that it will also continue to put out smoke for the next several days.
“The fire ran into several natural barriers on both sides of the river and eventually stalled out at a barren area of land on the Quechan Reservation,” Watson Quiroz said.
The fire was reported just after 11 a.m. Sunday just east of the Yuma Territorial Prison and when
Yuma firefighters arrived on scene they saw smoke in an area that was approximately ½ mile east of the park on the south side of the Colorado River.
YFD spokesperson Mike Erfert said the area was in soft dirt with heavy brush, and a YFD Utility Terrain Vehicle (UTV) was used to survey the area and deploy personnel in wildland firefighting gear.
The Imperial County Fire Department (ICFD) was also notified because strong winds were pushing the fire north toward the river. By noon, additional firefighting resources from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and other state agencies were requested, with BLM arriving on the scene about 2 p.m.
Erfert said firefighters from several agencies worked throughout the day to contain the fire but, driven by winds, the fire did eventually jump to the north side of the river.
After receiving reports that several tubers and others were floating down the river, Yuma police officers stopped others from getting into the river and warned those who were already in the water to get out. Someone with a boat was also in the area and assisted the tubers who were already too close to the fire.
By approximately 4 p.m. additional BLM resources had arrived, with most of the firefighting efforts now taking place on the north side of the river by crews on the ground, firefighting boats and a helicopter from the Prescott area.
The fire had mostly died down by 7 p.m., according to Erfert, with YFD’s involvement being reduced to a fire-watch on the Arizona side of the river in the event of any flare-ups.
Two fire investigators are also on scene and working to determine what caused the fire.
“They have narrowed down where the fire began to a general area, but not the specific cause,” Watson-Quiroz said. “The fire appears to have started in the East Wetlands area.”
In addition to the YFD, YPD, ICFD, and BLM, the Yuma County and Imperial County Sheriff’s Offices, and the AZ State Wildland “Superstition” Fire Crew also responded.
Watson-Quiroz also said the helicopter is still assigned to the fire and is currently on stand-by at Yuma International Airport in case it is needed again.
No injuries or property damage have been reported from the fire.