Doce Fire — west of Prescott

Map of Doce Fire

(UPDATE at 2:20 p.m. MDT, June 19, 2013)

Map of Doce Fire at 11 p.m. MDT, June 18, 2013
Map of Doce Fire at 11 p.m. MDT, June 18, 2013. (click to enlarge)

The map of the Doce Fire above shows the perimeter (in red) at 11 p.m. MDT Tuesday night.

More information is at Facebook and the very unreliable InciWeb.

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(UPDATE at 9:15 a.m. MDT, June 19, 2013)

The Arizona Emergency Information Network (AZEIN) reports that the Doce Fire has burned 7,000 acres and is zero percent contained.

Below is evacuation information from the AZEIN. For the most current evacuation information, check their site.

Evacuated: Granite Basin Homes, Sundown Acres, Old Stage Acres, south half of Mint Creek, and American Ranch.

On notice for potential evacuation: neighborhoods in Williamson Valley

(There is an evacuation center at Yavapai College. Livestock should be taken to the Prescott Rodeo Grounds)

The AZEIN reported at 7:38 a.m. Wednesday:

The fire was active overnight on the northeast corner by the Williamson Valley Corridor and on the southwest corner by Granite Mountain Wilderness. No structures have been lost and no injuries have occurred.

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(UPDATE at 9:07 a.m. MDT, June 19, 2013)

Map of Doce Fire
Map of Doce Fire at 12:08 a.m. MDT, June 19, 2013 (click to enlarge)
Map of Doce Fire
Map of Doce Fire, zoomed in to Williamson Valley area, at 12:08 a.m. MDT, June 19, 2013 (click to enlarge)

The maps of the Doce Fire above show heat detected by satellites at 12:08 a.m. MDT June 19. The locations of the squares representing heat can be as much as a mile in error.

Map of smoke from Doce Fire, 8:37 a.m. MDT, June 19, 2013
Map of smoke from Doce Fire, 8:37 a.m. MDT, June 19, 2013. From WeatherUnderground

Much of the smoke from the Doce Fire is blowing toward Flagstaff and northeast Arizona.

Doce Fire, seen from Williamson Valley Road,
Doce Fire, seen from Williamson Valley Road, 6-18,2013, InciWeb photo

A Red Flag Warning is in effect for much of northern Arizona, including the area of the Doce Fire. The forecast predicts southwest winds of 15 to 25 mph gusting up to 40, with a relative humidity as low as 3 percent.

Air Tanker 910 DC-10 Doce Fire
Air Tanker 910, a DC-10, dropping on the Doce Fire, June 19, 2013. Photo from 10 Tanker Facebook page

We will update this article throughout the day Wednesday.

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(originally published at 6:50 p.m. MDT, June 18, 2013; updated at 10:51 p.m. MDT, June 18, 2013)

At approximately 1 p.m. MDT Tuesday the Southwest Coordination Center’s Twitter account first mentioned the Doce fire:

 

Map of Doce Fire near Prescott
Map showing approximate location of heat detected by a satellite (red squares) on the Doce Fire west of Prescott, Arizona, 2:44 p.m. MT, June 18, 2013 (click to enlarge)

The fire is on the Prescott National Forest about 3 miles west of the northwest edge of the populated area near Prescott, Arizona, and approximately 4 miles west of Williamson Valley Road. Some residents have been forced to evacuate from the Granite Basin and Iron Springs Club areas, and highways are blocked at Iron Springs Road and Skyline Drive.

Doce Fire, 6-18-2013
Doce Fire, 6-18-2013, AZCentral

By the time the heat sensing satellite passed over at 2:44 p.m. MT it was quite large, as you can see in the map of the Doce fire above. The locations identified by the satellite can be as much as a mile in error, but a guess leads me to believe the fire was well over 1,000 acres at 2:44 p.m. MDT.

At 7 p.m. MDT the Southwest Coordination Center reported that the fire had blackened 5,000 acres and a Type 1 Incident Management Team with Tony Sciacca as Incident Commander has been ordered.

In the late afternoon the nearby Iron Springs weather station recorded a relative humidity of 8 percent, temperature of 86 degrees, and winds out of the southwest at 13 mph gusting up to 26. Here is a link to a detailed weather forecast for the fire area. A Red Flag Warning has been issued for extreme fire danger on Wednesday from noon until 7 p.m. MST for strong winds and low relative humidity.

At 7:30 p.m. MDT Wednesday the National Weather Service at Flagstaff Tweeted about Wednesday’s weather forecast for the Doce Fire area:

Satellite photo of Doce Fire
Satellite photo showing smoke from the Doce Fire at 8 p.m. MDT, June 18, 2013
Two DC-10s at Mesa Gateway fighting Doce Fire 6-18-2013 photo by Jason Volentine KTVK
Two DC-10 air tankers at Mesa Gateway airport in Phoenix fighting the Doce Fire, 6-18-2013. Photo by Jason Volentine KTVK. They are rarely seen together on fire assignments.
DC-10 dropping on Doce Fire
DC-10 dropping on Doce Fire 6-18-2013. AZCentral

AZCentral has some videos HERE and HERE of air tankers and a helicopter dropping on the fire. The 12News TV station’s Facebook page has some photos of the fire.

BAe-146 dropping on Doce Fire
BAe-146 dropping on Doce Fire, June 18, 2013. AZCentral

We will update this article as more information is available.

Typos, let us know HERE, and specify which article. Please read the commenting rules before you post a comment.

Author: Bill Gabbert

After working full time in wildland fire for 33 years, he continues to learn, and strives to be a Student of Fire.

14 thoughts on “Doce Fire — west of Prescott”

  1. The satellite imagery would be very useful if what is
    available on this website were not 3 days old. Where can I
    see more current imagery with infrared fire signatures
    overlaid on it?

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  2. My prayers are with all the firefighter crews out there fighting this beast of a fire and I hope that the loss of wildlife and homes are a minimal due to all their hard work. Thank you to all those men and women.

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  3. I live in the Longview estates, on the hill, and I can see granite mountain very well. It died down a lot little over night but now it’s just getting windier and hotter. I can see the smoke and it looks like its picking up again. 🙁

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    1. So sad… Used to North of Longview on Bailey Ave and Granite Mtn. is sooo beautiful.. Stay safe and keep us informed…

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  4. I live south of Prescott on high ground, and can see Granite Mountain. I’ve been seeing fire spots along the crest all night, and some on the upper eastern slopes. It’s hard to judge accurately, but based on the fire spots and the glow, I think the fire passed west of Granite Mountain and also went up the western side, and I think that currently areas near Williamson Valley are involved as well.

    It’s a moonlit night and I’m not seeing much of a smoke plume, so I’m hoping that it’s lost some of its intensity. The bad news is that the forecast for Wednesday is windy.

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  5. We got 3 tankers flying out of Prescott (6, 7, 40), 3 helitankers (736, a Columbia Chinook and a Huey), Tanker 910 flying out of Willie, and supposedly 911 is also there now.

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      1. I have a daughter who is wildland fire fighter /EMT trained working presently at the Camp Willow Springs Girl Scout Camp the last I heard was that the fire was about 4 or 5 miles away from Thum Butte Road. Can you send me an update of the status of how close it is to that camp in particular? Apparently nearby camps have evacuated but the GS has not sent word that will happen yet.

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  6. I live in Prescott and as of tonight Granite Mountain was almost completely burned. Probably well over 1000 acres now as it was still growing. High winds tomorrow will not help 🙁

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  7. WOW!. i AM IMPRESSED. It is amazing but scary…. It is getting closer to williamson valley road im sure. Getting closer. And its down the mountain. Be carefull for the ashes they might start another fire…. Their hitting Chino Valley……. and Prescott probobly… But chino for sure. Be carefull and safe

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