Updated at 10:20 a.m. June 4, 2011
The townsites of Paradise and Whitetail remained evacuated on Friday as the Horseshoe 2 fire near Portal, Arizona continued to spread to the north, adding another 4,000 acres bringing the total blackened acres to 90,200 making it the fifth largest wildfire in state history.
Here is an excerpt from a 9:00 a.m. June 4 update from the incident management team:
The fire reached Paradise yesterday. Fire crews protected the community with no loss of property. Structure protection in and around Paradise and East Whitetail Canyon will continue to be the priority today. Line construction has been completed along East Turkey Creek Rd north and south of Paradise and crews initiated burnout along these lines as the fire approached. Burnout operations have been stated north of West Turkey Creek Rd as the fire backs slowly to the west.
A mandatory evacuation order continues for the communities of Paradise, East Whitetail Canyon and nearby residences. The Chiricahua National Monument is closed to visitors.
A new tactic includes an expanded planned indirect perimeter on the north and northwest perimeter.
The fire is 50% contained and is being suppressed by 859 firefighters. The other large fire burning in Arizona is the Wallow fire.
Firefighters could be busy for a while. The fire season in the southwest United States could last another five to six weeks.
