Another storm system with 40 mph winds moved across the fire area on Thursday. Outflow winds stirred up fire activity across all sides of the fire. The high winds pushed the fire to the south along Cemetery Road, burned onto Bureau of Land Management lands, and toward the town of Congress. Operations launched Air Attack to reassess the fluid situation along with a helicopter to begin more aerial suppression work within a high-priority saddle to get the fire suppressed on that flank. A dozer was able to get fire line in on State Trust land along the southeast flank of the fire. Today, crews continue with efforts to get line in on that side as they work to tie it in to yesterday’s established dozer line. An infrared flight Thursday night showed some scattered heat throughout the fire’s interior with the highest concentration on the south end of the fire.
The northeast side of the fire stayed fairly quiet on Thursday with no movement along that side. Today, crews will continue mopping up and cold trailing, essentially checking for the heat that remains along the fire’s edge and within the interior. Along the northwest side, today crews will also continue checking for any remaining heat sources in and around the fire’s edge.
On Thursday, additional resources arrived on the fire including hand crews and engines. Currently, nearly 180 personnel remain assigned to the fire from the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management, BLM, the US Forest Service and local cooperators.
The fire was the result of a lightning strike on Tuesday, July 9. Local fire resources responded to the smoke report but due to the fire’s location in inaccessible terrain were unable to access the fire. The next day, resources returned for additional monitoring and could not locate the incident due to the overnight precipitation. Wednesday afternoon, a wind event moved through Congress with 60 mph winds that rekindled the fire and significantly increased fire behavior. Single Engine Air Tankers, a Large Air Tanker along with ground resources engaged to slow the fire’s spread to the east and south. The fire is burning in steep, rugged terrain in some areas within dense Pinyon-juniper, grass and brush. The main priority for operations on any and all fires is the safety of the crews and the public. Crews are working under very hot and dry conditions. Extra ground resources arrived to provide additional support and allow for more crew breaks. On the southwest side of the fire, open mine shafts are creating another hazard for resources. Medic support teams are in place across the fire to support ground resources.
