Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management

Firefighters continue working through the day and overnight doing hand line construction around the fire to keep it within its current footprint. Milder and favorable weather has been assisting in those suppression efforts and allowed firefighters to stop the fire’s forward progress Wednesday night. Five hand crews assigned have containment increased to 30% along the western flank of the fire, just east of the community of Elgin. Crews are also cold trailing the fire to ensure no heat remains along the fire line.

Nearly 200 personnel remain assigned to the Elgin Bridge Fire and continue working to establish containment line with a goal of 100% suppression. Fifteen percent of the fire is contained on the western flank near the community of Elgin, but the fire remains active at the head. The fire is still situated within the Mustang Mountain range, just south of State Route 82 and west of Babacomari Ranch Road. When safe, firefighters continue to go direct by utilizing firing operations to clear out unburned fuel ahead of the fire.

With fire danger extremely high, increasing temperatures, and little to no rainfall in the forecast,
the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management will implement Stage 2 fire restrictions on State Trust Land across Central and Northern Arizona this week.

Today crews get some relief from the critical fire weather as Red Flag conditions dissipate over the fire area. Yet, even with yesterday’s Red Flag Warning, the fire did not see much additional growth. Firefighters were able to keep it within its current footprint and keep the fire from pushing through established containment lines. Today fire objectives include, constructing containment lines along the southern and western sides of the fire and mopping up along the eastern edge where containment lines have already been put in. The fire is 11,611 acres and is 12% contained.

Crews took advantage of the decreased fire activity overnight and conducted fire handline construction ahead of the fire as a way to help slow the fire’s forward progress. This is a tactic used to reduce fuel in an area to potentially limit fire spread and growth. However, another round of Red Flag conditions Monday may hinder daytime fire suppression efforts as high winds, low relative humidity, and a dry fuel bed can create fast fire spread and erratic fire behavior, and likely unsafe fire conditions for direct suppression efforts.

Effective Thursday, May 5 the following agencies will implement campfire and smoking restrictions:  

Each year, nine out of ten wildfires across the country are started by people. In 2021, 71 percent of Arizona’s fires were human-caused. As the temperatures start to rise and vegetation starts to dry out, the state will begin to see an increase in fire activity. Therefore, it is extremely important for residents and visitors to do their part to prevent wildfires.