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.

IR flights last night mapped the Telegraph fire at around 80,700 acres (which is ~4,400 acres of growth yesterday) and the Mescal Fire at approximately 70,000 acres (an increase of just over 3,000 acres yesterday).

On Tuesday, smoke production on the Mescal Fire was much less compared to the past few days. The Telegraph Fire continued to have a large smoke column that dispersed toward the northeast with light to moderate smoke impacts noted in Show Low and the surrounding areas.

Today, we are forecasting smoke to move toward the northeast with moderate to, at times, heavy impacts possible in Globe-Maimi due to the proximity to the fire. As smoke continues to disperse toward the northeast, moderate smoke impacts are likely this afternoon in places further north-northeast of the fire, including areas in/around Whiteriver, Cibecue, Show Low, Snowflake, and Eagar. Overnight, moderate to heavy impacts are possible in Globe-Miami, with moderate impacts forecast in Peridot/San Carlos. Only expecting light impacts in Superior today into tonight as the most active portion of the fire is now east of the region.

If you are in an area with heavy impacts, the suggested actions to take are (if possible): close windows and use fans or alternative cooling devices, turn off swamp coolers, use filtered HVAC systems, and avoid outdoor activities.

Tomorrow, there will be a slightly more westerly component, so the smoke is expected to disperse more toward the ENE.

To follow the smoke forecast visit https://azdeq.gov/WildfireForecast