The Telegraph fire is now around 87,000 acres, and for the second day in a row, no new perimeter growth on the Mescal Fire, which has been mapped at 72,196 acres.

Smoke Synopsis

Weather and smoke conditions Saturday and Sunday are expected to be very similar to what was seen on Friday. Smoke is forecast to slowly disperse toward the east both days. This means light to moderate impacts will once again be possible throughout the day in/around Globe, San Carlos, and Peridot.

With the light winds, not expecting smoke to disperse as far as we saw last weekend into the first part of next week; however, during the heat of the day, smoke that becomes slightly higher up in the atmosphere is forecast to move toward the northeast. There is a slight possibility smoke could move over areas in/around Whiteriver and Eagar this afternoon; however, impacts at the surface are expected to be light.

Further east in Safford, smoke from the Telegraph may combine with smoke from the Pinnacle Fire, burning west of the area in the Pinaleno Mountains (near Santa Teresa Wilderness). As a result, the region in/around Safford may experience light to moderate smoke throughout the day into the overnight hours.

The Telegraph Fire has burned approximately 86,400 acres, with around 550 acres of growth yesterday. The perimeter size of the Mescal Fire did not change yesterday, coming in at about 72,000 acres.

Thanks to excellent work by firefighters, smoke production over the past couple of days on the Telegraph and Mescal Fires has not been as much as we saw earlier in the week. With lighter winds in the forecast today, smoke that is produced is expected to slowly disperse toward the east. This means light to moderate impacts will once again be possible throughout the day in Globe, San Carlos, and Peridot. Further east in Bylas, and Safford, expecting smoke to move overhead with only light impacts possible at the surface. It should be noted that the Safford area could also see some additional smoke from the Pinnacle Fire burning west of the area in the Pinaleno Mountains (near Santa Teresa Wilderness).

In the afternoon, during the heat of the day, smoke that becomes slightly higher up in the atmosphere is forecast to move toward the northeast. This will mean smoke may move over areas in/around Whiteriver and Eagar this afternoon; however, impacts at the surface are expected to be light.

Tomorrow (Saturday) conditions are forecast to be very similar to today.

The Mescal Fire grew by approximately 2,000 acres yesterday, bringing it to ~72,000 acres. The Telegraph is now at ~85,000 acres with a growth yesterday of around 400 acres.

Smoke production on the Telegraph fire overnight into this morning is less compared to what we have seen over the past few days. Smoke that is being produced is resulting in light to at times moderate impacts to the Globe-Maimi area. Smoke that has settled into the region is expected to lift by 10 am.

Winds today and tomorrow will be lighter, and later this afternoon have a westerly component to them. As a result, smoke is expected to disperse ENE today, with light to moderate impacts possible to the Globe-Miami area due to the proximity to the fire. Other areas that have been seeing moderate impacts further north and east of the fire, such as Cibecue, Show Low, and Eagar, may see smoke move overhead or through the region; however, impacts are expected to remain light. Whiteriver and the San Carlos/Peridot areas may see short periods of moderate smoke impacts, but for the most part, only light impacts are expected.

Overnight into tomorrow, forecasting similar smoke impacts to what is being seen this morning and what will be seen later today.