Tonto National Forest

Yesterday crews made progress securing and improving the Highway 188 corridor from Tonto Basin north to the Highway 87 intersection. Firefighters continue to use sing a range of tactics to fully suppress the fire. They are working to protect values at risk including nearby communities, state highways, communication sites and power lines. 

There will be an online Bush Fire community meeting tonight at 6 pm tonight on Fb.com/bushfireinfo. An American Sign Language interpreter and captioning will be provided. A recording will be posted following the meeting. No account is required to view the video. If a pop-up box appears when you first navigate to the link, you can use the scroll bar on the right to scroll down to the view and/or click “not now” to minimize the login pop-up.

As a result of the Bush Fire, the US Forest Service, Gila County Sheriff’s Office, and Gila County Emergency Management has recommended that the following areas be placed on a “GO” mode on the Ready, Set, Go model:

• Brownsville 
• Jakes Corner 
• Slate Creek 
• Pioneer Pass

GO – Be Alert

The communities 76 Ranch, Gisela, Rye, Deer Creek and Bar T Bar Ranch were placed in “Set” status.  Jake’s Corner remains in ‘Set’ status on the Ready, Set, Go evacuation model.

Residents of Sunflower have been told to evacuate and are now in “go” status.  Residents of Jakes Corner remain in “set” Status.

On Monday morning, June 15, 2020, the Gila County Sheriff’s Office placed Tonto Basin/Punkin Center from Highway 188 and A-Cross Road to Highway 188 at Rambo Realty in Go Status. This includes all residents on both sides of the highway, and both sides of the creek are now being asked to Go. Visit www.facebook.com/gilacohealthem/ for the latest information for residents living in these areas.

The Sawtooth Fire is 80% contained. Minimal fire activity was observed throughout yesterday and last night. Suppression repair efforts have been completed as firefighters have restored fireline no longer needed to a more natural state. The Type 1 incident management team will be transitioning command of the fire to the Tonto National Forest at 6 am Tuesday, June 9. Forest resources will continue to monitor and patrol the fire.

The success of yesterday's operations has brought containment up to 57%. Minimal fire activity occurred throughout the day and crews were able to make progress on securing the fire perimeter. Isolated showers moved through the area but did not provide any significant moisture over the fire area.

Little fire activity was reported Thursday and containment has increased to 42%. Firefighters continue to secure the perimeter. Most of the containment is on the northeast side of the fire, where the Sawtooth Fire has burned into an area that burned last year during the Woodbury Fire. The majority of activity yesterday was in the Weavers Needle area. Helicopters dropped buckets of water to help cool hotspots. Firefighters are continuing to secure firelines, including searching for and put out hot spots near fire’s perimeter.

• Acres:   24,600 acres (based on infrared flight)                                   
• Percent Containment or Completion: 8%            
• Start Date: May 30, 2020                                           
• Cause: Lightning                                        
• Origin Location: Superstition Wilderness, two miles Northeast of Peralta Trailhead, Tonto National Forest
• Jurisdiction: Arizona State Lands, private land, Tonto National Forest, including portions of the Superstition Wilderness
• Fuels: Tall grass and heavy brush
• Resources: 391