377 Fire FINAL Update, June 7, 2018 P.M.

Discovered: Monday, June 4, 2018

Location:  5 miles northeast of Heber/Overgaard, Arizona

Percent contained:  70%

Size: 4,514 acres              

Cause: Human Caused                                                                            

Vegetation: Pinyon-Juniper, grass understory

Personnel Assigned: 111

Update: Despite strong sustained winds through the day fire lines surrounding the fire held strong. Flair-ups and single tree torching was observed within the interior of the fire; However, no significant threats to the line were detected.  Crews continued to reinforce, mop-up, monitor, and patrol the fire line throughout the day.

Friday morning, command of the fire will transition to a Type 4 Incident Command, James McLaughlin, Incident Commander (IC) and Sean Loscudo, IC Trainee.  Crews will continue to focus on mop-up, monitor, and patrol of the fire line.

This will be the final update issued by Chris Johnson’s White Mountain Zone Type 3 Incident Management Team.

Weather: Tomorrow’s weather will again be close to critical fire weather, with temperatures in the low 90s and daytime relative humidity in the single digits. Winds will be 10 to 15 miles per hour (mph) and gusts to 25 mph. 

Closures and Evacuations: Arizona State Route (SR) 377 between Holbrook and SR 277 is scheduled to re-open this evening at 8:00 p.m. with reduced speed limits through the fire zone.  Motorists are reminded to drive with extreme caution through the fire zone. Be alert for fire crews working along the shoulder as well as emergency vehicles entering the highway.  Visibility within the fire zone can drop to near zero without notice due to blowing dust, ash, and debris.  With the opening of SR 377, all closures and evacuations related to the 377 Fire have been lifted.

Discovered: Monday, June 4, 2018

Location:  5 miles northeast of Heber/Overgaard, Arizona

Percent contained:  20%

Size: 4900 acres

Cause: Human Caused                                                                                                  

Vegetation: Pinyon-Juniper, grass understory

Personnel Assigned: 335

Update: Containment was achieved by crews working to improve and enforce dozer lines north of Forest Service Road 488 and east of Pierce Wash.  Water drops were also used throughout the day. There was a 72 acre fire at mile marker 19 on State Route 377 that was called controlled. Little to no growth occurred today in the main fire.

Navopache Electric Cooperative crews worked throughout the night, and continued working throughout the day to restore power to the Heber-Overgaard community this evening.

Tomorrow crews will patrol containment lines, assess unburned green islands, continue to enforce and secure the fire line. Air support will help to keep the fire within the control lines.

Weather: Warm dry weather will continue with high temperatures reaching into the high 80’s, and daytime relative humidity in the single digits. Winds will be 11 to 21 miles per hour (mph) and gusts to 31 mph. 

Closures and Evacuations: Arizona Department of Transportation opened State Route 277 for travel with reduced speed in the fire area due to fire equipment and crews. The entire length of State Route 377 remains closed from Holbrook to State Route 277.  Despain Ranch remains under a mandatory evacuation order.

Discovered: Monday, June 4, 2018

Location:  4 miles northeast of Heber/Overgaard, Arizona

Percent contained:  0%

Size: 4900 acres                                                                                                Cause: Human Caused

Vegetation: Pinyon-Juniper, grass understory, with pockets of Ponderosa Pine

Personnel Assigned: 250

Update: The White Mountain Zone Type 3 Incident Management Team, Incident Commander Chris Johnson, took over control of the 377 Fire at 0600 this morning. The 377 Fire was first reported as a series of fires along State Highway 377 at 1:26 p.m. on Monday. The first fires was reported at milepost 1 on Highway 377 and within minutes 15 individual fires had been reported stretching from milepost 1 to 22 on State Highway 377.  Multiple municipal, state, and federal agencies responded.  The fires burning primarily in grassland from Milepost 9 to 22 were under control by sunset, but fires within the forested area quickly grew together, threatening private homes in the Despain Ranch area. The fire damaged the main power line delivering power to the communities of Heber and Overgaard.  A full evacuation of Despain Ranch was carried out, all residents and animals were safely moved from the area. An evacuation shelter has been established at the Navajo County Fairgrounds in Holbrook.  Utilizing dozer lines and retardant drops, crews have reduced the threat to structures in the Despain Ranch area.

The fire inflicted severe damage to the Navopache Electric Cooperative (NEC) line which provides power to the Heber/Overgaard community. NEC crews worked throughout the night, and continue working to restore power. Barring unforeseen circumstances, they hope to re-energize the substation sometime this afternoon. Please check their website at navopache.org for updates.

Yesterday retardant and water drops, carried out by three single engine air tankers (SEAT), a very large air tanker (VLAT), and several helicopters, were successful in assisting in structure protection around Despain Ranch and slowing the northern progress of the fire. Ground crews began constructing dozer lines on the east and west flanks, anchoring into State Route 277 along the fire’s south side and working north.

Cool overnight temperatures calmed fire behavior and allowed crews time to plan for today’s actions.  Today crews will continue to work on building fire line employing dozers and hand-crews around the perimeter of the fire.  As temperatures rise, fire activity and smoke will increase.  Air support will continue through the day, utilizing retardant and water where necessary to reduce fire behavior and forward spread.  Prevailing winds will continue to be out of the southwest, pushing the fire further away from Heber/Overgaard. Increase in acreage overnight is due to improved mapping of the entire fire area.  Little to no growth occurred overnight.

Weather: Warm dry weather will continue through the first part of the week, with high temperatures reaching into the high 80’s, and daytime relative humidity in the single digits. Winds should remain calm at 10-15 miles per hour and gusts to 25.

Closures and Evacuations: Arizona Department of Transportation has closed State Route 277 from milepost 306 at the State Route 260 junction in Heber/Overgaard to milepost 366 at the State Route 77 junction in Snowflake.  The entire length of State Route 377 remains closed from Holbrook to State Route 277.

Despain Ranch remains under a mandatory evacuation order.