Apache Sitgreaves National Forests

The Springerville Ranger District on the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests plan to begin ignitions on the Whiting prescribed fire during the next available window of favorable weather conditions, potentially on Nov. 28, 2023. The prescribed fire unit is approximately 10 miles southeast of Vernon, near the Whiting homestead, and west of Forest Road 117.

Firefighters were successful in prepping the Pole Knoll prescribed fire by blacklining (preburning of fuels adjacent to control lines) 800 acres of the perimeter earlier this month. They plan to resume burn operations to treat 800 acres within the interior of the project area starting on Nov. 27, 2023. Favorable weather conditions are crucial in meeting burn objectives, and ignitions could be initiated anytime between Nov. 27 and Dec. 15, 2023.

Sunday, the weather remained hot and dry with winds gusts up to 20 mph. Crews continued to repair the containment lines by turning over dirt to make sure there were no hot spots near the fire’s edge. The Spoon Fire is 80% contained, and the Cottonwood Ridge fire remains at 95% contained.

There were no new fires reported on Sunday. Crews continued mopping up the fire on Chediski Mountain. A hand crew and a dozer worked around the perimeter looking for hot spots and heat sources.

Continued hot, dry temperatures, and winds with gusts up to 30 mph occurred Saturday. Crews continued to reinforce containment lines by turning over dirt to make sure there were no hot spots near the perimeter of the fires. Crews were able to increase containment on the Spoon Fire to 80%, and the Cottonwood Ridge fire to 95%.

Continued hot, dry temperatures, and winds with gusts up to 25 mph occurred Friday. Crews continued to perform mop up duties along the perimeters of the fires looking for hidden heat sources that may start appearing due to the vegetation drying out after the last rainstorm, and we able to increase containment on the Spoon Fire to 58%.
There were two new fires reported Friday on the Fort Apache Reservation, and firefighters and air resources were sent to help put out these new starts.

On Thursday, heat sources along fire containment lines continued to decrease, meaning the heat is naturally diminishing adjacent to the fire containment lines. This allows firefighters to work steadily to increase containment on all fires. New fire starts addressed Wednesday showed minimal heat and no smoke on Thursday. Although the temperature was warm, dry, and breezy, no additional new starts were detected.

Despite the hot, dry, and breezy weather Wednesday, crews made steady progress on all fires. Many heat sources within the fire perimeters are slowly burning out, allowing firefighters to mop up and make good progress on containment efforts.

Monday’s rainfall helped the crews with gaining containment of the fires, but the accompanying thunderstorms resulted in nine additional new fire starts on Fort Apache. Five of the new fires are currently being managed by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The Southwest Area Incident Management Team 5 (SWA IMT 5) is assisting with the remaining four.

The last several days of rain and higher humidity have kept fire activity minimal. Hotspots may still exist, and some areas may become active again toward the end of the week as fuels dry out. Lightning in the area has ignited at least one snag, and firefighters will be on the lookout for additional new starts. The rain and humidity will help fuels absorb moisture, which can reduce the chance of rapid fire growth.

Crews were successful in preventing the Snake Ridge Fire from increasing in size on Saturday. On Sunday crews will continue to secure and improve firelines around the fire
perimeter. Crews will continue to secure fireline and mop up hotspots.