The Backbone fire grew approximately 1,000 acres yesterday and is now around 38,300 acres. Cloud cover throughout the day helped to temper fire activity and therefore, slow its growth. Payson saw mostly light impacts, though brief moderate impacts were noted in the afternoon and at night. Camp Verde also saw light to moderate impacts throughout the day. Moderate to heavy impacts were observed in Pine around midnight last night.
Smoke Synopsis
This morning, widespread cloud cover can be seen over much of Arizona, including over the Backbone Fire. Cloud cover is forecast to remain over the fire throughout the day. There will also be chances for light rain showers (up to 0.10″). Variable winds will be also possible, depending on rain activity. As rain evaporates into the dry air near the ground, it will result in erratic, gusty winds.
Given the cloud cover, smoke is not expected to rise as high as today; as a result, any morning impacts may linger a bit longer. Also, the aforesaid erratic winds could cause smoke to move in any direction. In general though, smoke is expected to disperse to the north or northeast. Similar to previous days, light to moderate impacts may be possible in Camp Verde throughout the day. Then overnight, Pine will likely continue to see moderate to heavy impacts, given its proximity to the fire. Payson will likely see light to moderate impacts next morning.
Tomorrow, skies will clear out and winds will become more uniformly out of the west-southwest. Given the sunnier conditions, fire activity is expected to pick up again. And smoke should disperse to the east-northeast during the day. The good news is that smoke should be able to rise higher, reducing smoke impacts at the ground during the day. However, as smoke settles down at night, moderate to heavy impacts may be possible in Pine again.
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.
