Tag: Sawtooth Fire

The incident management team for the Sawtooth Fire Tuesday morning announced the evacuation of part of Queen Valley. Firefighters expect to carry out a burnout operation nearby, also called back burn, in order to prevent the fire from spreading into the town.

Below is part of the announcement issued at about 11:30 a.m.:

Over the next few days, firefighters on the Sawtooth Fire will begin back burning operations as part of structure protection and community safety measures in and around the northeast portion of Queen Valley.  To ensure safety, starting at noon today, residents along Silver King Road and Williams Road in Queen Valley will be placed in precautionary GO status as they are being asked to vacate their homes while these suppression operations take place. At this time, this precautionary GO notification only effects those residents along those two roads. Currently, all other residents in Queen Valley and nearby communities are not impacted by this request and need not vacate their residence in support of these firefighting tactics.

For more information on the READY, SET, GO evacuation and preparedness program: https://ein.az.gov/ready-set-go.

To get notified about emergency alerts, including evacuation information, contact your local county emergency management office.

There is no estimated timeframe as to how long back burning operations will take within the northeast portion of Queen Valley. Residents are asked to be prepared to leave for a minimum of three days.

The news release included few details or links about how to find out more  about the evacuation, but we did some research:

• Tonto National Forest Facebook page
• I discovered that the fire in Pinal County. Here is a link to the County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page.
• Pinal County Emergency Management web page.
• Pinal Emergency Notification System (PENS) to
  stay informed with time-sensitive messages.

The Sawtooth Fire is east of the greater Phoenix area, 10 miles east of Apache Junction. At 12:47 a.m. Monday the south side of the fire was approximately 2 miles north of Queen Valley and 8 miles northwest of Superior.

(To see all articles about the Sawtooth Fire on Wildfire Today, including the most recent, click here)

If the incident management team releases an update on Tuesday they are expected to say it has burned over 20,000 acres.

(UPDATED at 8:02 a.m. MDT June 2, 2020)

The Sawtooth Fire east of Phoenix 10 miles east of Apache Junction was not as active Monday as it was on Sunday. A fixed wing mapping flight at 12:47 a.m. MDT Tuesday determined that most of the growth was on the north side. When the incident management team releases an update Tuesday morning they are expected to say it has burned over 20,000 acres.

(To see all articles about the Sawtooth Fire on Wildfire Today, including the most recent, click here)

While firefighters faced 104 degrees Monday with 12 percent relative humidity, the wind was slight, about 2 to 5 mph which accounts for the less than massive spread Monday. The forecast for Tuesday calls for stronger winds out of the west at 5 to 10 mph, 13 to 18 percent RH, and a high temperature of 100 to 104. This could result in more fire activity than Monday on the south side of the fire north of Queen Valley and northwest of Superior.

At 12:47 a.m. Monday the Sawtooth Fire was approximately 2 miles north of Queen Valley and 8 miles northwest of Superior.

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(UPDATED at 6:08 p.m. MDT June 1, 2020)

The incident management team on the Sawtooth Fire updated the size at 6:50 p.m. today, saying it has burned 16,000 acres. A Type 1 incident management team has been ordered —  Sinclair’s team from the Southwest Geographic Area.

The updated map above shows the APPROXIMATE location of the Sawtooth Fire using satellite heat sensing data as of 1:40 p.m. Monday. The map includes the boundary of the Tonto National Forest (in yellow).

Most of the recent spread was on the northwest and south sides. It has grown about a mile closer to Queen Valley, and Monday at 2:30 p.m. was about two miles north of the community.

Very little official information is being released about this major wildfire.

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(UPDATED at 8:20 a.m. MDT June 1, 2020)

The Sawtooth Fire east of Phoenix, Arizona was very active Sunday and Sunday night, spreading in all directions. It made a big push during the night growing three miles to the east and southeast.

(To see all articles about the Sawtooth Fire on Wildfire Today, including the most recent, click here)

During a satellite overflight at 2:30 a.m. MDT Monday the fire was six miles east of Gold Canyon, three miles north of Queen Valley, and seven miles northwest of Superior.

The lightning-caused fire was reported Saturday at 10 p.m. It has burned into the footprint of the Woodbury Fire that blackened over 123,000 acres in June, 2019. Sunday night the Forest Service reported that the Sawtooth Fire was 3,500 acres. According to heat detected by satellites at 2:30 a.m. Monday it was approximately 11,000 acres. There has been limited spread into the Woodbury Fire scar.

The Sawtooth Fire is on land protected by the state and is also within the Superstition Wilderness area of the Tonto National Forest.

Weather

The low relative humidity Sunday at Gold Canyon was 10 percent and the high temperature was 112, falling to 78 by 5 a.m. Monday. The wind Sunday was not extreme, blowing at 3 to 8 mph with occasional gusts to 15, and less than that during the night. The direction was generally from the southwest, but switched to come out of the west-northwest after 10 p.m. and later the northeast, which accounts for the spread of the fire to the south detected by the satellite at 2:30 a.m.

The weather forecast for the fire area on Monday predicts a high of 99 to 103 degrees, a minimum humidity of 12 to 17 percent, and 5 to 8 mph upslope winds in the afternoon with isolated gusts to 12. There’s no chance of rain.

(UPDATED at 3:37 p.m. MDT May 31, 2020)

The Tonto National Forest reported at 2:35 p.m. MDT May 31 that the Sawtooth Fire eight miles east of Gold Canyon had burned about 2,500 acres. No structures were threatened.

(To see all articles about the Sawtooth Fire on Wildfire Today, including the most recent, click here)

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(Originally published at 9:19 a.m. MDT May 31, 2020)

The greater Phoenix area has been plagued with numerous wildfires over the last two weeks. The Sawtooth Fire (the name could change) is the latest, reported Saturday evening near Coffee Flat east of Apache Junction and 8 miles east of Gold Canyon.

It is burning on lands protected by the state of Arizona and the Tonto National Forest where it has spread into the Superstition Wilderness.  A very rough estimate of the size based on heat detected by satellites at 3:30 a.m. Sunday is that the fire has burned at least 600 acres.

The good news, if there can be any about a wildfire, is that it appears to have burned into the footprint of the huge Woodbury Fire that blackened over 123,000 acres in June of 2019. That flank should not be very difficult to suppress if fire managers decide to suppress the fire, but it could still work around to the west, south, and north in fairly rugged terrain.