YOUNG, Az. – Fire officials got an aerial view today of the 11,950 Poco Fire northeast of Young, Arizona, and increased its containment to 80 percent.

“Smoke has dissipated from the town of Young, Payson, and the Mogollon Rim communities. We are still seeing smoldering in the center of the deep canyons within the Tonto National Forest,” says Incident Commander Trainee Andy Mandell, Central West Zone Interagency Type 3 Team.

All around the perimeter, the Fort Apache Interagency Hot Shot crew and Prescott National Forest Hot Shots gathered downed trees and limbs, feeding them into chippers to remove fuel. Much of this work takes place adjacent to Forest Road 512 (Young Road) which reopened today. “We are seeing residents traveling the road again and ranchers working cattle, so we’re asking our firefighters and the public to drive with considerable caution,” Mandell emphasizes. Water tenders and an air craft were released from the fire today; the Central West Zone Interagency Type 3 Team resources remaining on the fire consist of three engines and two hot shot crews, for a total of 100 personnel.