Tinder Fire

 Coconino National Forest and Arizona State Forestry personnel are holding the northeast section of the Tinder Fire as the winds arrive today and continue into the weekend.

Helicopter efforts from yesterday appear to be suppressing any spread in the northeast section of the fire. Ground crews are in place to extinguish any fire which may try to jump the current fire lines or create a spot fire outside of them.

Coconino National Forest and Arizona State Forestry personnel are working together to suppress and secure the northeast section of the Tinder Fire before strong winds arrive over the next two days.

The potential for increased wildfire activity still exists throughout the Tinder Fire area, as windy and dry conditions will increase and existing pockets of fuel such as logs and stumps continue to burn within the fire perimeter and some segregated canyon areas.

Clearing skies during the day will bring more smoke, with southwest winds blowing it northeast towards Winslow and the Hopi reservation. Smoke impacts in the Blue Ridge communities, Winslow, and the Hopi Reservation will be moderate during the day. Air quality will worsen at night for the Blue Ridge communities. The weather pattern should stay the same for the next few days. Visit the InciWeb link below for more air and smoke information.

Management of the Tinder Fire will transition from the Type 1 Southwest Area Incident Management Team #1, (Bea Day, Incident Commander), to a local Type 3 Incident Management Team (Jeff Thumb, Incident Commander) starting at 6:00 am tomorrow, May 7.

The Coconino County Public Health Services District (CCPHSD) has issued an Air Quality Health Advisory for residents in the Blue Ridge community due to smoke from the Tinder Fire. The fire continues to produce a large amount of smoke which is expected to move towards Winslow.

Smoke production from the Tinder Fire will increase with the hotter, drier air under the high pressure area building over the fire. The fire will continue to produce smoke as remaining pockets of unburned fuel and burning logs and stumps within the fire perimeter continue to burn out. A change in wind direction today will push smoke toward Winslow and the Hopi reservation. Smoke impacts in the Blue Ridge communities will be unhealthy for sensitive groups, and will be moderate for Winslow and the Hopi Reservation.

Highway 87 is open but the Coconino National Forest area closure for the Tinder Fire remains in effect. Visit https://www.fs.usda.gov/main/coconino/home for more information regarding the forest area closure.

Yesterday the evacuation order for the Blue Ridge communities was lifted and residents returned to their properties. For additional information call the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office at 928-213-2990 or 928-679-8393.

Highway 87 was reopened yesterday. Visit https://twitter.com/ArizonaDOT or call 511 for current status.

Resources: 470 personnel including 9 crews, 4 helicopters, 28 engines, 6 dozers, 2 water tenders, and other support personnel.

The evacuation order for the Blue Ridge communities was lifted today and residents were allowed to re-enter their properties. For additional information call the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office at 928-213-2990 or 928-679-8393.

The Highway 87 closure was lifted today. Visit https://twitter.com/ArizonaDOT or call 511 for current status.