Cottonwood Ridge Fire Quick Facts Acres: 345 Cause: Lightning Containment: 65% Start Date: July 23, 2023 Location: 4 miles south of Show Low, AZ Fuels: Timber, grass, brush
Spoon Fire Quick Facts Acres: 4,560 acres Cause: Lightning Containment: 35% Start Date: July 24, 2023 Location: 2.5 miles east of Highway 60 between Globe and Show Low, AZ. 11 miles southwest of Cedar Creek Fuels: Piñyon- Juniper, Manzanita, Grass, Cedar
Snake Ridge Fire Quick Facts Acres: 42 acres Cause: Lightning Containment: 79% Start Date: July 28, 2023 Location: 11 miles southwest of Show Low, AZ. Fuels: Grass, Brush
Total personnel for all incidents: 428
Despite the hot, dry, and breezy weather Wednesday, crews made steady progress on all fires. Many heat sources within the fire perimeters are slowly burning out, allowing firefighters to mop up and make good progress on containment efforts.
New fires identified yesterday were caught quickly due to rapid initial attack response from firefighters. Two new fires were stopped at one acre. Crews were able to confirm that another new fire has no remaining heat sources. One fire had firefighters rappel out of a helicopter to contain the fire and ensure no heat sources remained near containment lines. Two additional fires have two crews and engines providing fire response efforts.
Crews will begin repairing damage caused by building containment lines, including water barring areas where the fire is cold to the touch. They will also continue to construct handlines and dozer lines along the fire’s edge.
Cottonwood Ridge Fire Update: Crews are patrolling the fire perimeter for hotspots, finding few heat sources along established containment lines. Their diligent efforts provided a 15% increase to the fire’s containment, amounting to a total of 65% containment.
Public Information Line: 928-421-4579 Phone Line Hours: 8 am – 8 pm Email: 2023.CottonwoodRidge@firenet.gov
Crews Make Additional Progress on Containment, Respond to New Starts
Cottonwood Ridge Fire Quick Facts Acres: 345 Cause: Lightning Containment: 50% Start Date: July 23, 2023 Location: 4 miles south of Show Low, AZ Fuels: Timber, grass, brush
Spoon Fire Quick Facts Acres: 4,560 acres Cause: Lightning Containment: 25% Start Date: July 24, 2023 Location: 2.5 miles east of Highway 60 between Globe and Show Low, AZ. 11 miles southwest of Cedar Creek Fuels: Piñyon- Juniper, Manzanita, Grass, Cedar
Snake Ridge Fire Quick Facts Acres: 42 acres Cause: Lightning Containment: 50% Start Date: July 28, 2023 Location: 11 miles southwest of Show Low, AZ. Fuels: Grass, Brush
Total personnel for all incidents: 418
Monday’s rainfall helped the crews with gaining containment of the fires, but the accompanying thunderstorms resulted in nine additional new fire starts on Fort Apache. Five of the new fires are currently being managed by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The Southwest Area Incident Management Team 5 (SWA IMT 5) is assisting with the remaining four.
The new starts include a two-acre fire southwest of the Snake Ridge Fire. A dozer in the area quickly constructed fireline around the entire perimeter, while air resources dropped buckets of water on heat sources. A separate new start was contained. Smoke was spotted about four miles north of the incident command post along highway 60 and crews responded. With the dry fuels, higher temperatures and low relative humidity forecasted in the coming days, we are expecting possible new starts and have firefighters ready for initial attack response.
Cottonwood Ridge Fire Update: Crews are continuing to work on improving firelines, mopping up areas and seeking out hotspots. Due to the lack of visible smoke, hotspots continue to be difficult to find by crews.
Spoon Fire Update: Fire crews detected minimum heat along the containment line of the fire, allowing them to increase containment on a small area of the fire along the hook on the southwest side of the fire. A dozer line was constructed above the northeast side of the fire, should it move to the north.
Snake Ridge Fire Update: The crews did great work on the fire yesterday with progress on mop up and line securement, resulting in an increase of containment by 25%. The fire is now 50% contained. Firefighters will continue to seek out hotspots and secure fireline to increase containment.
Weather: Warmer and drier weather is expected on Wednesday, with only isolated thunderstorms and showers.
Evacuations: None.
Residents and visitors should take time to become familiar with the Ready, Set, Go evacuation model.
Sign up for the Navajo County Alert System at https://tinyurl.com/y4vwrasw.
Smoke: Smoke may still be visible as pockets of heat continue to smolder. For information on smoke and air quality, visit https://www.airnow.gov.
Closures: Highway 60 remains open. The southwest portion of Fort Apache is closed, including all Salt River sites within the closure area.
Fire Restrictions: There are several fire restrictions in place depending on location.
Fort Apache Agency: Stage 2 Fire Restrictions: No campfires, fireworks, outdoor smoking, debris burning or discharging of firearms. Power saws cannot be used between 10 am and 8 pm. All motorized travel is restricted to developed roads.
Show Low, Navajo County and Apache Sitgreaves National Forests: Stage 1 Fire Restrictions: No campfires (except in developed recreation sites), no smoking outdoors, no welding, no fireworks.
Public Information Line: 928-421-4579 Phone Line Hours: 8 am – 8 pm Email: 2023.CottonwoodRidge@firenet.gov
Thunderstorms and Rain fall across the White Mountains
Cottonwood Ridge Fire Quick Facts Acres: 345 Cause: Lightning Containment: 50% Start Date: July 23, 2023 Location: 4 miles south of Show Low, AZ Fuels: Timber, grass, brush
Spoon Fire Quick Facts Acres: 4,560 acres Cause: Lightning Containment: 25% Start Date: July 24, 2023 Location: 2.5 miles east of Highway 60 between Globe and Show Low, AZ. 11 miles southwest of Cedar Creek Fuels: Piñyon- Juniper, Manzanita, Grass, Cedar
Snake Ridge Fire Quick Facts Acres: 42 acres Cause: Lightning Containment: 25% Start Date: July 28, 2023 Location: 11 miles southwest of Show Low, AZ. Fuels: Grass, Brush
Total personnel for all incidents: 392
The last several days of rain and higher humidity have kept fire activity minimal. Hotspots may still exist, and some areas may become active again toward the end of the week as fuels dry out. Lightning in the area has ignited at least one snag, and firefighters will be on the lookout for additional new starts. The rain and humidity will help fuels absorb moisture, which can reduce the chance of rapid fire growth.
Cottonwood Ridge Fire Update: Crews continue to improve firelines, mop up areas, and seek out hotspots. Hotspots can be more difficult to find because of the recent rains and lack of smoke. Work will continue around the northern edge of the fire, as weather conditions allow.
Spoon Fire Update: The Spoon Fire received the least amount of rain on Monday, as weather systems moved into the area around 5 p.m. This allowed firefighters to make progress on fireline construction. Air resources were mostly grounded due to weather storms in the area. Crews will continue to construct and secure fireline using hand crews and dozers, focusing on the west and south edges. The southern portion of the fire will have the highest chance of showing heat again as the weather warms and dries heading into Thursday and Friday this week.
Snake Ridge Fire Update: Crews were able to make some progress on mop up and line securing operations before being pulled from the line due to weather on Monday. Firefighters will continue to seek out hotspots and secure fire line to increase containment.
Mustang Ridge Fire Update: The Mustang Fire has reached 100% containment and will continue to be monitored by air.
Weather: On Monday, multiple storm systems moved into the area with rain falling over both the Cottonwood Ridge and Snake Ridge fires helping fuels to absorb moisture. This weather system is expected to continue on Tuesday, which will help keep fire activity minimal and decrease the chances of fire activity increasing when the area begins to dry out again at the end of the week.
Evacuations: None.
Residents and visitors should take time to become familiar with the Ready, Set, Go evacuation model. These steps help you to be READY in the event of an emergency by preparing now. Additionally, sign up for the Navajo County Alert System at https://tinyurl.com/y4vwrasw.
Smoke: Rain and humidity area keeping fire behavior to a minimum and there is no smoke currently visible. This may change as the area dries out as the week progresses. The Spoon Fire may have isolated pockets of heat and smoke. Please slow down when traveling through smoky areas.
For information on smoke and air quality visit https://www.airnow.gov.
Closures: Highway 60 remains open. The southwest portion of Fort Apache is closed, including all Salt River sites within the closure area.
Fire Restrictions: There are several fire restrictions in place depending on location.
Fort Apache Agency: Stage 2 Fire Restrictions. No campfires, fireworks, outdoor smoking, debris burning or discharging of firearms. Power saws cannot be used between 10 am and 8 pm. All motorized travel is restricted to developed roads.
Show Low, Navajo County and Apache Sitgreaves National Forests: Stage 1 Fire Restrictions. No campfires (except in developed recreation sites), no smoking outdoors, no welding, no fireworks.
