(UPDATED at 7:34 p.m. MDT June 11, 2016)
The Tenderfoot Fire at Yarnell, Arizona grew slowly on Saturday and is now at 4,040 acres, according to the incident management team. Fire activity was moderated by moisture received on the fire Friday night, along with cooler daytime temperatures and higher relative humidity.
Incident Commander Sinclair stated that “work of the heavy air tankers made a significant contribution towards reducing the spread of fire on the north side of the incident yesterday”.
Highway 89 is now open and the mandatory evacuation on the east side of Yarnell was lifted at 6 p.m. on Saturday. There are no other evacuation orders in effect.
Resources assigned include 8 hand crews, 22 engines, 5 helicopters, 3 dozers, and 353 personnel.
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(UPDATED at 9:18 p.m. MDT June 10, 2016)
The Incident Management Team provided some updated information Friday afternoon about the Tenderfoot Fire at Yarnell, Arizona:
The fire is currently moving away from the Community of Yarnell in a northeasterly direction, an area where very few structures are present. This area is very rugged in character with very little access. Fire managers will be looking for opportunities to the northeast of the current fire area where firefighters can safely engage and suppress the fire south of Wagoner Road.
There are currently no immediate threats to structures. Over the last few years fuel reduction projects were completed on the east and north sides of the Community of Yarnell. Fire Chief Ben Palm stated that these fuel breaks significantly reduced the fire intensity of the Tenderfoot Fire as it approached the community, allowing firefighters to attack the fire and greatly reduce property loss. The fuel breaks were the result of a partnership between the Community and Arizona State Forestry and the Bureau of Land Management.
This afternoon the Yavapai Sheriff’s Office announced the opening of State Highway 89 at 4:00 p.m.
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(UPDATED at 8:45 a.m. MDT, June 10, 2016)
The Tenderfoot Fire at Yarnell, Arizona was very active Thursday afternoon and Thursday night, more than doubling in size to approximately 3,300 acres according to information released by the incident management team. That acreage may change after personnel map the fire via helicopter later today.
The Southwest Area Type 2 Incident Management Team #3, with Incident Commander Alan Sinclair, assumed command of the fire at 6 a.m. on Friday.
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(UPDATED at 10:40 p.m. MDT, June 9, 2016)
The Tenderfoot Fire at Yarnell, Arizona south of Prescott became more active in the late afternoon on Thursday and has now burned over 1,300 acres. The heat data in the map below acquired at 2:27 p.m. MDT on Thursday showed additional fire spread on the east and the northeast sides.
At about 3 p.m. a mandatory evacuation notice for Peeples Valley on the east side of Highway 89 was issued. It was a precautionary evacuation and with no imminent threat at that time.
The increase in fire behavior was a result of the wind increasing to 13 mph after noon, while the relative humidity dropped to 18 percent.
Continue reading “Arizona: Tenderfoot Fire causes evacuations in Yarnell”
