The red dots on the map represent heat detected on the Wyrick Fire by satellites at 3 p.m. MDT June 21, 2021. The other colors were detected earlier.
On Monday during a 3 p.m. satellite overflight the Wyrick Fire was about 2 miles north of Highways 260 and 277 at the closest points, and was three miles from the intersection of the two highways. Most of the spread of the fire on Monday was on the southeast side toward Heber.
To see all articles on Wildfire Today about the Wyrick Fire, including the most recent, click HERE.
From the Incident Management team at about 6 p.m. Monday:
“The Wyrick Fire has advanced toward Heber, and reached a starting point for setting evacuations into motion in Heber and Overgaard. Current status as of 3 pm:
“Areas in READY Status: Overgaard south of Highway 260 High Country Pines in Heber Kendall Ranch / Camp Ponderosa.
“Areas in SET Status: Areas in Heber not identified as Ready or Go status Chevelon Ranches and Retreat Communities in Overgaard south of Highway 277 and North of Highway 260.
“Areas in GO Status (leave now): Antelope Valley Despain Ranch Heber and Overgaard North of 260 AND 277.”
Originally published at 9:56 p.m. MDT June 20, 2021.
Wyrick Fire by Jeff Zimmerman, 7 p.m. June 20, 2021.
During the first four hours after it was reported at 2 p.m. Saturday June 19, the Wyrick Fire in east-central Arizona was mapped at 173 acres. But Sunday the lightning-caused fire grew substantially while being pushed by outflow winds from thunderstorms. Based on heat detected by satellites, by 3:18 p.m. MDT it had grown to at least 450 acres.
An advisory from the Incident Management Team Sunday afternoon said it was 1.5 miles from 95A and was spreading in all directions.
Late in the afternoon it was producing a very large smoke column topped by a pyrocumulus cloud and causing spot fires up to one-quarter mile ahead. It is burning in pinyon-juniper and grass.
At 3:18 p.m. Sunday the fire was in the Apache Sitgreaves National Forest 5 miles northwest of Heber, 3 miles north of Highway 260, and 48 miles east of the Backbone Fire. (See the map below.)
The red dots represent heat detected by satellites on the Wyrick Fire at 3:18 p.m. MDT June 20, 2020.
The latest satellite overflight Monday at 2:12 p.m. MDT showed that the Backbone Fire had spread approximately a half mile along portions of the north and northeast sides during the previous 12 hours. There are reports that later in the afternoon fire activity increased.
We expect to have more detailed information including an updated map Tuesday morning.
To see all articles on Wildfire Today about the Backbone Fire, including the most recent, click HERE.
Updated at 1:38 p.m. MDT June 21, 2021
The red line on the map was the perimeter of the Backbone Fire at 8:15 p.m. MDT June 20, 2021. The white line was the perimeter about 24 hours before.
The Backbone Fire two miles west of Strawberry, Arizona has burned 32,757 acres as of Sunday night. It is about 7 miles southeast of the suburbs southeast of Camp Verde.
Sunday and Sunday night firefighters continued to monitor the progression of the Backbone Fire on both the western and eastern flanks and prepared containment features to support Monday’s operations. Firefighters and heavy equipment will reinforce firelines south and west of Strawberry and Pine, and are preparing for future burnout operations as necessary to strengthen the firelines and protect the communities. Air tankers and helicopters will focus on keeping the fire from moving into Deadman Mesa and Hardscrabble Canyon.
Another day of extreme fire behavior is expected on Monday with growth to the north and east.
Weather
Extreme temperatures will continue Monday with single digit humidity. Scattered dry thunderstorms may develop to the north and west in the afternoon and linger into the evening. Afternoon southwest winds will increase with gusts of 20 – 25 mph.
Evacuations
Evacuation orders were issued for the communities of Pine and Strawberry. Residents and visitors should contact their county or visit https://ein.az.gov/ready-set-go for further information.
Closures
State Route 260 is closed between Camp Verde and State Route 87 and State Route 87 is closed north of Payson to Clint’s Week. Motorists are advised to visit https://www.az511.com for current road closures.
3:33 p.m. MDT June 20, 2021
Map of the Backbone Fire. The red dots represent heat detected by a satellite at 4 a.m. MDT June 20, 2021. The red line was the mapped perimeter at about 7 p.m. MDT June 19, 2021.
The Backbone Fire 8 miles southeast of Camp Verde, Arizona has prompted the evacuation of two communities with a combined population of about 2,700 residents, Strawberry and Pine. Early Sunday morning the fire was 2 miles west of Strawberry. (More information about the evacuations.)
On Saturday large quantities of aerial retardant were used to slow the spread of the fire to east toward Strawberry and Pine and to keep it out of the big drainage to the south, Hardscrabble Canyon.
Today firefighters and heavy equipment will construct and reinforce control lines south and west of Strawberry and Pine and prepare for future burnout operations as necessary to strengthen protection for the communities. Some of the control lines will be “plumbed” with fire hose to be used during the burning. Helicopters and air tankers will help firefighters keep the fire from moving into Deadman Mesa and Hardscrabble Canyon.
Sunday at 1:22 p.m. MST the temperature in Pine was 95° under clear skies with 16 percent relative humidity and winds out of the south-southwest at 11 mph gusting to 22. The temperature is predicted to reach 99°. The forecast for Monday and Tuesday is for similar conditions.
The hot, dry, windy weather combined with drought and low moisture in vegetation have led to an expectation of another day of extreme fire behavior on Sunday with growth to the north and east.
State Route 260 is closed between Camp Verde and State Route 87. Motorists are advised to visit AZ511 for current road closures.
The Telegraph and Mescal Fires have merged southeast of Globe, Arizona
Updated at 10:25 a.m. MDT June 15, 2021
Map showing the area where the Telegraph & Mescal Fires merged. The perimeter of the Telegraph Fire was mapped at 11:16 p.m. MDT June 14. The red dots represent heat detected by a satellite at 3:54 a.m. MDT June 15, 2021. The satellites did not detect any large heat sources on the two fires outside of what is seen here.
Monday night the Telegraph Fire south of Globe, Arizona spread farther to the east across Highway 77 and merged with the mostly dormant Mescal Fire. When the Telegraph Fire was mapped at 11:16 p.m. Monday it was 123,078 acres, but it continued growing through the night possibly adding another 6,000 to 12,000 acres. At least 22 structures have been destroyed.
The fire burned through the El Capitan area Monday night from the west and north, then later moved through again from the Southeast.
Extremely dry fuels and weather conditions led to the rapid growth. At Globe Monday night the relative humidity stayed in the single digits until 4 a.m. when it rose to 10 percent. The wind during the night was generally out of the west at 10 to 15 mph with gusts of 15 to 24 mph, but slowed after 1 a.m.
Tuesday morning at 8:06 MST it was 88°, 22 percent RH, with a wind shift, 9 mph east-northeast winds gusting to 15.
Monday’s forecast for Globe is 106° and 15 mph winds out of the west-northwest gusting at 20 to 24 with the RH in the low teens.
An excessive heat warning is in effect through Friday with high temperatures at Globe continuing around 106°.
The progression map below shows how the recent growth on the east side apparently spread from Pinal and Signal Peaks.
Telegraph Fire progression map, June 15, 2021
8:45 p.m. MDT June 14, 2021
Map of the Telegraph & Mescal Fires. The fire perimeter was mapped at 1:30 p.m. MDT June 14. The red areas represent heat detected by a satellite at 2:42 p.m. MDT June 14, 2021.
The Telegraph Fire south of Globe, Arizona exhibited extreme fire behavior Sunday afternoon and into the night. It ran to the east and spotted across State Route 77 early Monday morning near Capitan Pass and a second time just south of Grantham Ranch. The fire’s edge has moved adjacent to El Capitan on the west and east sided of SR 77, and spread east to the San Carlos Apache Reservation border. Hand crews and dozers are working to build fire line around the spot fire.
Firefighters conducted firing operations from a dozer line on the northeast side of the fire south of Six Shooter Canyon Road and Ice House Canyon Road.
The fire is currently about 2 miles from the Mescal Fire.
Telegraph Fire June 13, 2021. InciWeb photo.
The fire impacted the west side of El Capitan. Structure protection crews in that area are using all of the contingency lines and prepositioned hoses, pumps, and water to protect the values at risk in and around El Capitan.
Airtankers and helicopters are dropping retardant and water in support of ground crews’ efforts. The fire behavior is too severe to allow firefighters to access and work near Pinal and Signal Peaks.
On the north side of the fire, crews continue to patrol and mop up pockets of unburned fuel which flare up along U.S. Route 60.
Brian and Zach, winners of Jack Links National Jerky Butte 2021. Still image from Jack Links video.
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.
Jerky Butte. Still image from Jack Links video.
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.)
Brian and Zach, winners of Jack Links National Jerky Butte 2021. Still image from Jack Links video.
The red areas represent heat detected on the Telegraph & Mescal Fires by a satellite at 3:48 a.m. MDT June 10, 2021. The yellow line was the perimeter mapped by an aircraft at 9:15 p.m. MDT June 9, 2021. The white line was the perimeter about 24 hours before.
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 San Carlos hand crew and the Bear Jaw Type 2IA Crew teamed up on a large spot fire on the west flank of the Mescal Fire June 8, 2021. BLM photo by Mike McMillan.
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.
The red areas represent heat detected on the Telegraph & Mescal Fires by a satellite at 4:06 a.m. MDT June 9, 2021. The yellow line was the perimeter mapped by an aircraft at 8:36 p.m. MDT June 8, 2021. The white line was the perimeter about 24 hours before.
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.
Mescal Fire, June 6, 2021. BLM photo by Mike McMillan.
8:52 a.m. MDT June 8, 2021
The red areas represent heat detected on the Telegraph & Mescal Fires by a satellite at 2:35 a.m. MDT June 8, 2021. The yellow line was the perimeter at 8:37 p.m. MDT June 7, 2021. The white line was the perimeter about 24 hours before.
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.
After spending the night shift burning out in Soda Canyon on the Mescal Fire, southeast of Globe, Arizona, the Mesa Hotshots had to make the long drive back over the mountain to Superior, Arizona where they had day sleeping accommodations in the Hotel Magma. The crew was packing their vehicles around 4 pm on June 5, 2021 as they prepared to head back east to work the night shift again. Smoke from the Telegraph Fire is seen in the background. Photo by Tom Story.
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.
Burning out on the Mescal Fire, June 6, 2021. BLM photo by Mike McMillan.
Blue Ridge Hotshots and engines, burning out on the Mescal Fire, June 6, 2021. BLM photo by Mike McMillan.
The Telegraph Fire southwest of Globe, Arizona was active again Monday due to the continuous cured grass and brush, low fuel moistures, and weather conditions — temperature in the upper 90s, 7 percent relative humidity, and 15 mph winds gusting to 24 mph.
At least 3,500 residences are threatened by the fire.
On Monday the fire made runs on the east side near Highway 60 and lofted embers across the road igniting a spot fire north of the Pinal Creek Bridge south of Miami.
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.
At 6 p.m. Monday it had burned about 61,000 acres.
Blue Ridge Hotshots burning out on the Mescal Fire, June 6, 2021. BLM photo by Mike McMillan.
Resources assigned to the fire include 6 hand crews, 8 engines, 1 dozer, and 5 helicopters for a total of 276 personnel.
1:50 p.m. MDT June 7, 2021
Telegraph Fire
Additional evacuations were ordered for the Telegraph Fire which has been spreading rapidly 27 miles east of Mesa, Arizona, 5 miles southwest of Globe. 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. (see map above)
To see all articles on Wildfire Today about the Telegraph and Mescal Fire, including the most recent, click HERE.
All of these communities are along US 60. The next one to the northeast, the direction the fire is moving, which could be threatened later is Claypool, and after that Central Heights-Midland City, and Globe. They were not under evacuation orders as of Monday morning at 10:27 a.m. MDT.
Map of the Telegraph & Mescal Fires. The yellow lines were the perimeters at approximately 11 p.m. MDT June 6, 2021. The white lines were the perimeters about 24 hours before.
Sunday night the incident management team said the Telegraph Fire had burned 41,109 acres. After the overnight mapping flight data has been analyzed that figure will likely increase to more than 56,000 acres. (Update at about 1:50 p.m. MDT June 7: the incident management team revised the size estimate to 56,625 acres.)
The Southwest Area Type 1 Incident Management Team led by Incident Commander Dave Bales, assumed command of the Telegraph Fire early Sunday morning and additional resources continue to be assigned to the fire.
The fire was reported around 1:30 pm Friday, June 4; its cause is under investigation.
Mescal Fire
The Mescal Fire is 13 miles east of the Telegraph fire, 9 miles southwest of Globe. Firefighters have been conducting strategic firing operations north of San Carlos Reservoir and east of Cutter along US Highway 70.
Evacuation orders were previously issued for Coyote Flats, Peridot Heights, the San Carlos High School Area, and all residents along Route 3.
Air tankers and helicopters are being utilized extensively to support firefighters on the ground as needed.
Helicopter 28HX lands at the Superior Helibase late in the afternoon after doing bucket work on the Telegraph Fire June 5, 2021. Photo by Tom Story.
Sunday evening the incident management team said the Mescal Fire had burned 49,631 acres. After the overnight mapping flight data has been analyzed that figure will likely increase to more than 52,000 acres. (Update at about 1:50 p.m. MDT June 7: the incident management team revised the size estimate to 52,887 acres.)
