The Bush Fire grew by only about 140 acres yesterday, a far cry from activity observed over the weekend. It should be noted that the fire perimeter itself did not grow, but rather, interior pockets continued to burn. The total acreage of the fire is now estimated around 186,800 acres.

Unsurprisingly, far less smoke activity was seen on satellite yesterday. Only a couple small smoke plumes were noted in the afternoon, moving off to the east from the fire. However, a thin layer of smoke still remained over the region. Heber and Show Low saw some moderate smoke in the morning.

Looking ahead for today and tomorrow, smoke from the fire is expected to continue moving in the same general direction as previous days: it should disperse to the north into the Rim Country and toward Payson in the morning, then move off to the east in the afternoon. Then overnight, smoke is expected to settle into low-lying areas in/around the Tonto Basin area.

In general, smoke impacts are expected to be light across the region because of the significant decrease in fire activity. However, brief periods of light to moderate smoke impacts will be possible in Payson, Heber, and Show Low. Moreover, light impacts may be possible in Fountain Hills in the evening. Any smoke that does fill into the low lying areas near/around the fire overnight is forecast to lift out by 9 am Wednesday.

Find the wildfire smoke forecast at:
https://www.azdeq.gov/WildfireForecast

Find the Arizona air quality monitor report at
https://www.azdeq.gov/aq/monitorreport

The Bush fire was considerably less active yesterday than previous days, only growing by about 1,500 acres. The fire now has an estimated total size of a little more than 186,000 acres. According to satellite, smoke was spread out across the whole region, with the heaviest plume of smoke extending across Gila County, just south of the Rim Country, and penetrating westward into Maricopa County. But much of this proved to remain overhead, as monitors in Payson, Heber, and Holbrook observed light smoke for the most part, with periods of brief moderate smoke.

Today, winds are forecast to start out light and variable over the fire. Then by the afternoon, they’ll shift to out of the west. Similar to previous days, smoke is expected to initially spread northward into the Rim Country through the morning. Then in the afternoon, smoke is forecast to slowly spread out to the east, with light to moderate smoke possible in Heber, Holbrook, Show Low, and St. Johns. Smoke will continue to be visible to the north and/or northeast of Phoenix.

Overnight, winds will become mostly light, similar to previous nights, allowing smoke to settle into low-lying areas in/around the Tonto Basin. Light smoke impacts may be possible in Fountain Hills. Any smoke that does fill into the low lying areas overnight is forecast to lift out by 9 am Tuesday.

On Tuesday, winds over the fire are forecast to be light again. Smoke is forecast to move slowly north over Payson and Rim Country before moving to the east over/toward Heber, Holbrook, Show Low, and St. Johns.

The Bush fire had one of its least active days yesterday, growing only by about 9,000 acres. The fire reached a total size of approximately 184,500 acres. According to satellite, the heaviest plumes of smoke remained over Gila County, just south of the Rim Country. But because of light winds over the region, smoke was able to slowly diffuse to the east, making for smoky skies over southern Apache and Navajo Counties. Locations including Payson, Heber, and Holbrook saw light to moderate smoke, not nearly as much as the previous 24 hours.

This morning on satellite, a thin layer of smoke can be seen extending across much of the region around the fire. This could be a combination of smoke from the Bush Fire and the Bighorn Fire, the latter which had sent smoke northward into Gila County yesterday. Holbrook has seen the greatest smoke impacts this morning; smoke is expected to lift out by 9 AM with the heating of the day.

Today, winds are forecast to be light over the fire again. Similar to yesterday, smoke is expected to slowly spread northward into the Rim Country through the morning and into the early afternoon. Then later in the afternoon, smoke is forecast to slowly spread out to the east-northeast, with light to moderate smoke possible in Heber, Holbrook, Show Low, and St. Johns. Smoke will continue to be visible to the north and/or northeast of Phoenix.

Overnight, winds will become mostly light, similar to previous nights, allowing smoke to settle in the Tonto Basin again, between Rye and Roosevelt Lake. But in general, smoke should be present around the region. Light smoke impacts may be possible in Fountain Hills. Any smoke that does fill into the low lying areas overnight is forecast to lift out by 9 am Monday.

On Monday, wind is expected to be light over the region again. Similar to today, smoke is forecast to move slowly north over Payson and Rim Country before moving to the east over Heber, Holbrook, Show Low, and St. Johns.