The Telegraph and Mescal Fires have merged southeast of Globe, Arizona
Continue readingWinners of race donate their $10,000 winnings to Wildland Firefighter Foundation
In recognition of National Jerky Day, Jack Links Jerky held a competition on June 12 in which four teams competed for a $10,000 prize and a year-long jerky subscription. It was held at Jerky Butte, Arizona, of course. The winners, Brian and Zach, donated their monetary prize to the Wildland Firefighter Foundation.
The competition over steep, rocky, brush-covered terrain involved not only going cross country as fast as you could but also solving a Jenga puzzle, a riddle, and a balancing act.
When told they had won, one of the team members said, “Thanks. I’m tired and I’m bleeding all over!” after having completed the race while wearing shorts. Later he said, “Support your forestry technicians.”
Congratulations Brian and Zach!
The Wildland Firefighter Foundation assists firefighters that have been injured on wildland fires and the families of firefighters who have been killed.
(Note: we were told that the two very generous guys are forestry technicians and wanted to remain anonymous. However, the video below which was the source of the images here and the names they competed under, was posted on YouTube.)
Spread of Telegraph Fire southwest of Globe, AZ slows
Updated at 9:51 a.m. MDT June 10, 2021
Firefighters on the Telegraph Fire have completed defensive burning operations around the communication towers on Pinal Peak one to two miles east of the main fire. South of Miami andn Claypool they are using dozers to construct several indirect contingency fire lines, and are burning out from some of the lines. On Thursday, for the first time a 15-mile stretch of fire perimeter west of Pinal Peak will be staffed by firefighters. Aerial ignitions are being conducted on the north side of the Pinals to bring fire slowly down the slopes in an attempt to lessen the severity of the fire effects. The fire has burned 85,335 acres.
Good progress is being made on the Mescal Fire, which was mapped at 72,250 acres Wednesday night.
Updated 8:48 a.m. MDT June 9, 2021
The Telegraph and Mescal Fires east of Phoenix continued to grow Wednesday. Both of the fires are near Globe, and are six miles apart separated by Highway 77.
Telegraph
Tuesday night satellites detected heat on Pinal Peak three miles east of the main fire. This could indicate firefighters are using fire to reduce the vegetation around the electronic sites on the mountain. (See the map below.)
The blaze was mapped by an aircraft Tuesday night at 80,822 acres, a 24-hour increase of about 4,000 acres.
Resources assigned include 20 hand crews, 39 engines, and 6 helicopters, for a total of 754 personnel, a 24-hour increase of 457 personnel.
Mescal
The only large concentrations of heat detected on the Mescal Fire Tuesday night by satellites was east of the 700 Road where firefighters are firing out, using the road as a barrier.
The Mescal Fire was mapped by an aircraft Tuesday night at 70,066 acres, an increase of about 3,000 acres.
Resources assigned include 16 hand crews, 25 engines, and 8 helicopters, for a total of 610 personnel, a 24-hour decrease of 49 personnel.
8:52 a.m. MDT June 8, 2021
The Telegraph and Mescal Fires east of Phoenix, Arizona were both active Monday and Monday night.
Telegraph Fire
Most of the growth of the Telegraph Fire Monday was on the northeast side, south of Miami and Claypool. At 2 a.m. Tuesday it was a half mile to one mile west of Russell Road near the Solitude Tailings Pond, about 2.5 miles west of Highway 60 in Globe.
The incident management team said Tuesday morning that it had burned 71,756 acres, an increase of about 10,000 acres in 24 hours.
Firefighters are protecting values in Top of the World, Superior, Claypool, Miami, and Globe. One of the primary goals is keeping the fire south of U.S. 60.
Crews are conducting burnout operations where strategically feasible, generally along roads, to remove fuel ahead of the fire .
The fire is expected to continue spreading to the north. Where the perimeter has not been secured on the north side it could fill in some of the gaps where it has not yet reached Highway 60.
Sunday evening the Gila County Sheriff’s Office announced a “GO” notification for all Miami residents west of the Miami town limits. Earlier evacuations had been ordered for the Top-of-the-World Community between Superior and Miami. All of these communities are along US 60.(see map above)
To see all articles on Wildfire Today about the Telegraph and Mescal Fire, including the most recent, click HERE.
Resources assigned to the Telegraph Fire include 7 hand crews, 21 engines, and 4 helicopters for a total of 297 personnel.
Mescal Fire
On Monday the Mescal Fire was far less active than the Telegraph Fire. Many of the strategic firing operations to stop the spread have been successful, including about 8 miles along Highway 70.
Some firefighting resources have been transferred to the Telegraph Fire.
At 2:36 a.m. satellites detected large heat sources in only two areas, the west side about 4 miles east of Highway 77, and on the southeast side about 3 miles west of San Carlos Reservoir.
An overnight mapping flight determined the Mescal Fire had burned about 66,000 acres, a 24-hour increase of about 14,000 acres.
Resources assigned to the Mescal Fire include 18 hand crews, 23 engines, and 7 helicopters for a total of 659 personnel.
Additional evacuations ordered for Telegraph Fire southwest of Globe, Arizona
Evacuation orders still in effect for Mescal Fire
Continue readingTwo large fires threaten communities near Globe, Arizona
Telegraph and Mescal Fires
Continue readingTwo wildfires east of Phoenix grew rapidly on Friday
South of Globe, Arizona
Continue readingTanker 169 at the end of the day
Air Tanker 169, an RJ 85, at the end of the day at Sierra Vista, AZ. Photo by Jerry MessingerA big thank you to Jerry Messinger who sent us this photo.
Forecast for smoke from Arizona’s Tussock Fire
The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality expects that smoke from the Tussock Fire will generally disperse to the east Monday and Tuesday. The fire is 27 air miles northwest of the northern Phoenix suburbs.
Below is their prediction issued at 9:47 a.m. on Monday May 10, 2021:
“[Monday] is expected to be another windy day, with south-southwest winds in the 10-20 mph range. Smoke is forecast to rise and disperse toward the east-northeast. Smoke may move over Camp Verde, Payson, and Winslow; however, smoke is expected to be elevated off the ground. Some smoke may drop down the backside of the Bradshaws Mountains this afternoon and into Bumble Bee, Cordes Lakes, Cleator, and Mayer, but impacts are expected to be short-lived.
“[Tuesday], as high pressure builds into the region, smoke is forecast to rise and disperse toward the east-southeast, with some smoke moving over the far north portion of the Phoenix Valley. This smoke is expected to be elevated well off the ground, so not forecasting any smoke impacts to the Valley. With that said, Anthem, New River, and Cave Creek may briefly smell smoke, especially in the late evening on Tuesday.”
The forecast below for Arizona is for 6 p.m. MDT May 10, 2021, produced by NOAA.
Tussock Fire burns thousands of acres southwest of Crown King, Arizona
12 miles northwest of Lake Pleasant
Continue readingCopper Canyon Fire forces closure of Hwy 60 north of Globe, AZ
Over 2,500 acres have burned
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