9/21/15 – A Flash Flood Watch is in effect from this evening through Tuesday evening for portions of central and northeastern Arizona. Widespread showers and embedded thunderstorms are expected to move north across northern Arizona this evening and tonight. The heaviest rainfall accumulations are forecast southeast of a Prescott-Flagstaff-Chinle line where 1.00 to 2.50 inches are likely and locally higher amounts are possible.

A Flash Flood Watch remains in effect through Tuesday evening for portions of central and northeast Arizona. A second weather system will bring the redevelopment of showers and thunderstorms across all of northern Arizona Tuesday. Increased wind speeds aloft and instability will bring the threat of severe thunderstorms to eastern Arizona.

Playground Fire Update
The Playground Fire began as a lightning strike fire on August 28, 2015 at 1431 MST located on the Fort Apache Reservation. Fire management and communication is also being handled by the Fort Apache Agency. This fire is 9.5 miles NNE of Cedar Creek, AZ and south of the communities of Pinetop-Lakeside and Show Low. It is on what is known as Faught Ridge. This is in an area where the terrain is difficult to maneuver due to the ruggedness and the overgrowth of trees and shrubbery. It has been quite some time prior to this event that any kind of treatment, whether mechanical, natural (fire) or otherwise has occurred in this area. Due to the large amounts of sustained moisture/humidity conditions this summer has produced, forest management officials are taking advantage of the opportunity to reduce the amount of dense vegetation in this area bringing it back to a healthier more defensible condition which ultimately could have devastatingly affected the communities of Pinetop-Lakeside and Show Low.
Unfortunately with this type of forest fuels management we will experience periods of heavy and drifting smoke in the nearby communities. There have been reports of ashes falling in yards in the Pinetop-Lakeside areas. There is no immediate threat to any structures or the possibility of an evacuation at this time.
The goal for this fuels management burn is to treat approximately 5000+ acres of land. There have been primary and secondary containment lines established all around the outer perimeter of this management area and the fuels crews are actively burning the interior portions of the overall designated treatment area to maximize the effectiveness of the management goal. Ignition operations are expected to continue through the weekend with the goal to be completed by Sunday September 20, 2015 and then begin to just monitor the fire from that point on which should reduce the amount of smoke and ash being produced.
We encourage the public to continue to be vigilant in watching for public safety risks but with the infiltration of smoke from this fire to be sure before overwhelming our “911” system with “calls to check smoke odors” for any calls to “911” make sure that they are a true emergency.

There is also a small fire start on the Black Mesa Fire District called the Potato Patch fire.
The lightning caused Potato Patch fire was discovered on September 11. The fire is located 6 miles north of Forest Lakes. Smoke will be visible from the local communities and from AZ State Highway 260.

Basic Information
Current as of 9/18/2015, 3:47:41 PM
Incident Type Wildfire
Cause Lightning
Date of Origin Friday September 11th, 2015 approx. 09:30 AM
Location 6 mi east of Forest Lakes
Incident Commander Greg Oyler
Current Situation
Size 105 Acres
Fuels Involved Timber and grass understory
Outlook
Projected Incident Activity Fire managers will monitor over the weekend.
Remarks Fire being managed for resource benefits. In addition, to a reduction of hazardous forest fuels, other objectives of the fire include improvement of wildlife habitat, understory vegetation enhancement, and forest disease and pest prevention.
Current Weather
Weather Concerns Thunderstorms/chance of precipitation likely for the next several days with some drying by Mon.

Friday September 18, 2015 the Forest Service will begin this treatment burn south of Vernon.
Springerville Ranger District
Apache-Sitgreaves NFS

9/18/15 –
BIA is finishing ignitions today on the 4,089 acre Playground fire. The fire continues to produce smoke that is visible in most areas in the White Mountains.
The BIA managed Playground fire burning on Fort Apache approximately 7 air miles south of Pinetop has been producing quite a bit of smoke that has been wafting over the White Mountains. The weather systems of late have spread the smoke as far as Winslow. People with respiratory problems should keep their windows and doors shut and limit their activity during times of unhealthy air quality. Arizona Department of Environmental Quality monitors air quality around the state and provides an hour by hour report of air quality. To check data from ADEQ’s Portable Particulate Monitor in Show Low, please go to this Web page: http://www.phoenixvis.net/PPMmain.aspx.