Wildfire Today

News and opinion about wildland fire

Wildfire Today

Tag: Central Fire

Central Fire spreads east from New River, AZ

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories WildfireTags , , 1 Comment on Central Fire spreads east from New River, AZ

Central fire mapped Sunday night at 4,517 acres

(UPDATED at 11:40 a.m. MDT June 22, 2020)

Central Fire Bush Bighorn Arizona wildfire map
3-D map showing the Central Fire which was mapped at 12:08 a.m. MDT June 22, 2020. The Bush and Bighorn Fires can be seen in the distance.

The Central Fire just east of New River, Arizona spread to the east Sunday to the top of New River Mesa, growing to 4,517 acres according to a mapping flight at 12:08 a.m Monday.

At a virtual community meeting Sunday night Ralph Lucas, the Operations Section Chief of Alan Sinclair’s Type 1 incident management team running both the Central and Bush Fires, said he did not expect the Central Fire to grow much more:

But when I last spoke to the Incident Commander on the Central Fire, he was confident with what they had going on, and thinks that we might be able to get around this thing and not see a drastic increase in acreage, but only time will tell depending on the weather and the wind.

Skycrane “Isabelle” N178AC, a Sikorsky S-64F fire wildfire
Skycrane “Isabelle” N178AC, a Sikorsky S-64F from Erickson Incorporated fills her 2,500 gallon tank at the Rancho Manana Golf Club while fighting the nearby Central Fire burning in the Tonto National Forest near New River, AZ on June 21, 2020. Photo by John Hall.

(Originally published at 12:47 p.m. MDT June 21, 2020)

DC-10 air tanker Central Fire
Air Tanker 914, a DC-10, drops retardant on the Central Fire, June 20, 2020. Photo by JDH Images.

Eleven months ago firefighters battled a wildfire north of Phoenix about 35 miles north of Phoenix, 4 miles east of Interstate 17. There was confusion about the name of the fire, switching from Central to Daisy and back to Central.

Saturday the same thing happened in the same location. A fire started in the footprint of the 2019 Central Fire. The name changed from Central to Daisy and back to Central.

Central Fire Arizona Phoenix
Red dots represent heat on the June 20, 2020 Central Fire detected by a satellite at 3:21 p.m. MDT June 20, 2020. Retardant from the July 20, 2019 Central Fire is visible in the background satellite photo taken August 12, 2019.

In the satellite photo above taken August 12, 2019, 23 days after the first Central Fire, you can make out retardant which was dropped by air tankers. Within those retardant lines are superimposed red dots representing heat on the June 20, 2020 Central Fire detected by a satellite at 3:21 p.m. MDT June 20, 2020.

Last year’s Central Fire burned between 503 and 800 acres.

Central Fire information Arizona

The Southwest Coordination Center lists the current Central Fire at 2,000 acres. Since the Saturday afternoon overflight, satellites have not been able to detect any large heat sources on the fire, but it is likely burning, or was burning, in light fuels such as grass, and cooled quickly between overflights.

Last year we made the map below:

Map Arizona location Central Fire
Map showing the location of the Central Fire 35 miles north of Phoenix at 3:21 p.m. MDT July 20, 2019.

The Incident Management Team on the Bush Fire northeast of Phoenix is managing the Central Fire.

The Bush Fire grew Saturday by 9,171 acres to bring the total up to 184,531 acres. Firefighters have had success in recent days stopping the spread at Highways 87 and 188. They are closely watching the south side as it backs slowly downhill through light vegetation to Apache Lake and the Salt River.

Central and Bush Fires Phoenix
The Central and Bush Fires in the Phoenix Area, June 21, 2020.

Maps of the Bush Fire northeast of Phoenix

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories WildfireTags , , 18 Comments on Maps of the Bush Fire northeast of Phoenix

Maps of the Bush Fire, northeast of Phoenix.

(UPDATED at 1:21 p.m. MDT June 21, 2020)

Central and Bush Fires Phoenix
The Central and Bush Fires in the Phoenix Area, June 21, 2020.

(UPDATED at 10:52 a.m. MDT June 20,2020)

Friday night’s mapping flight determined that the Bush Fire had burned 174,397 acres, an increase of 23,397 acres in 24 hours.

For all articles on Wildfire Today about the Bush Fire northeast of Phoenix including the most recent, click here.

(UPDATED at 8:23 a.m. MDT June 19, 2020)

Bush Fire map June 19, 2020 wildfire Arizona Phoenix Jakes Corner
The red line was the perimeter of the Bush Fire detected by a mapping flight at 11:18 p.m. MDT June 18. The yellow line was the perimeter detected by a mapping flight at 11:49 p.m. MDT June 17. The red dots represent heat detected by a satellite at 3:24 a.m. MDT June 19.

The fire has grown to 151,075 acres.

(UPDATED at 8:04 p.m. MDT June 18, 2020)

Bush Fire map 3 pm MDT June 18, 2020 wildfire Arizona Phoenix
The red line was the perimeter of the Bush Fire detected by a mapping flight at 11:49 p.m. MDT June 17. The yellow line was the perimeter detected by a mapping flight at 11:12 p.m. MDT June 16. The red dots represent heat detected by a satellite at 3 p.m. MDT June 18.

(UPDATED at 7:42 a.m. MDT June 18, 2020)

Bush Fire Vicinity Map
Vicinity map for the Bush Fire, 11:49 p.m. MDT June 17, 2020.
Bush Fire Map 254 am MDT June 18, 2020
The red line was the perimeter of the Bush Fire detected by a mapping flight at 11:49 p.m. MDT June 17. The yellow line was the perimeter detected by a mapping flight at 11:12 p.m. MDT June 16. The red dots represent heat detected by a satellite at 2:54 a.m. MDT June 18.

For all articles on Wildfire Today about the Bush Fire northeast of Phoenix including the most recent, click here.

(UPDATED at 7:25 p.m. MDT June 17, 2020)

Bush Fire map Phoenix
The red line was the perimeter of the Bush Fire detected by a mapping flight at 11:12 p.m. MDT June 16. The yellow line was the perimeter detected by a mapping flight at 12:45 a.m. MDT June 16. The orange and red dots represent heat detected by a satellite on June 17.

(UPDATED at 9:20 a.m. MDT June 17, 2020)

Map of the Bush Fire
Map of the Bush Fire at 3 a.m. MDT June 17, 2020. Data from USFS mapping flight and NASA satellites.
Map of the Bush Fire
3-D map of the Bush Fire at 3 a.m. MDT June 17, 2020. Data from USFS mapping flight and NASA satellites.

For all articles on Wildfire Today about the Bush Fire northeast of Phoenix including the most recent, click here.

map Bush Fire Arizona Phoenix
Map showing the approximate location of the Bush Fire at 2:28 p.m. MDT June 16, 2020. It is based on heat detected by satellites. This unofficial map should not be used to make decisions about safety or evacuation.
north side of the Bush Fire
Map showing the approximate location of the north side of the Bush Fire at 12:50 pm MDT June 16, 2020.
Bush Fire map Phoenix Arizona 3-D
3-D map showing the perimeter (in red) of the Bush Fire looking northeast at 11:46 p.m. MDT June 15, 2020. The yellow line was the perimeter 24 hours before.
Bush Fire map Phoenix Arizona
Map showing the perimeter of the Bush Fire (in red) at 11:46 p.m. MDT June 15, 2020. The yellow line was the perimeter 24 hours before.

A mapping flight Monday night at 11:46 determined that the Bush Fire had burned 64,513 acres.

satellite photo Bush Fire northeast of Phoenix
GOES-17 satellite photo of the Bush Fire northeast of Phoenix at 6:56 p.m. MDT June 15, 2020.
3-D Map of the Bush Fire northeast of Phoenix
3-D Map of the Bush Fire northeast of Phoenix looking southwest. The red line was the perimeter at 11:25 p.m. MDT June 14, 2020. The green line was the additional growth through 1:24 pm MDT June 15, 2020.
Map of the Bush Fire northeast of Phoenix
Map of the Bush Fire northeast of Phoenix. The red line was the perimeter at 11:25 p.m. MDT June 14, 2020. The green line was the additional growth through 1:24 pm MDT June 15, 2020.

Central Fire breaks out north of Phoenix

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags ,

(UPDATED at 9:37 a.m. MDT July 21, 2019)

Map Arizona location Central Fire
The brown dots represent heat on the Central Fire east of New River, Arizona, detected by a satellite at 3:21 p.m. MDT July 20, 2019.

Officials said Saturday evening that the Central Fire just east of New River, Arizona had burned 503 acres (see the map below). The National Situation Report issued Sunday morning has it listed at 800 acres. Since Saturday evening very little additional information has been released.

Most of the fire is on land managed by the Tonto National Forest.

Map Arizona location Central Fire
Map showing the location of the Central Fire 35 miles north of Phoenix at 3:21 p.m. MDT July 20, 2019.

During the first few hours after the fire started Saturday afternoon firefighting resources mobilized included two Very Large Air Tankers (DC-10s), four Large Air Tankers, and three hand crews.

The fire is burning about 35 miles north of Phoenix, 4 miles east of Interstate 17, which remains open.

A satellite overflight at approximately 3 a.m. MDT on Sunday did not detect any large heat sources on the fire. This could mean the fire was not very active at that time, or clouds obscured the view. It does not mean the fire is out. It is likely that the fire is burning in light fuels such as grass and brush that burns quickly without leaving residual heat, making it very difficult for an orbiting satellite 200 miles over the fire to detect heat.

We will update this article after the Tonto National Forest releases information.

(Originally published at 5:46 p.m. MDT July 20, 2019)

map Central Fire New River, AZ
3-D map showing the location of the Central Fire near New River, AZ at 2:32 p.m. MDT July 20, 2019. Looking east.

(Originally published at 5:47 p.m. MDT July 20, 2019)

Saturday afternoon a wildfire broke out near New River, Arizona north of Phoenix. Late Saturday afternoon Arizona State Forestry said it had burned 250 acres. (see the map above)

The blaze is 48 miles northwest of the Phoenix-Mesa Gateway airport, which is a fairly quick turnaround for the air tankers working out the airport’s retardant reload base. Other air tankers are coming from Prescott. At 5 p.m. MDT FlightAware showed the following air tankers working on the fire; Tankers 01, 16, 15, 164, and 911 (a very large air tanker, a DC-10), plus an assortment of air attack and lead planes.

aircraft map Central Fire
FlightAware map showing aircraft near the Central Fire in Arizona at 4:53 MDT July 20, 2019.
Central Fire Arizona
Aerial photo of the Central Fire. Arizona State Forestry.