Tunnel fire

Current Situation: Winds are expected to shift, coming from the north and northeast today and tomorrow. Firefighters are positioned to respond.

Crews continued Friday building line around the now 20,924-acre Tunnel Fire northeast of Flagstaff, while battling high winds and welcoming unusual precipitation in the form of scattered rain and sporadic snow showers.
 
Snow and rain did help douse dry grasses and keep them from igniting more easily, but precipitation levels weren’t high enough to affect large burning logs and extreme hotspots across most of the fire. High winds also resulted in drying out precipitation very quickly after it dropped.
 

On April 22, 2022 in the early morning hours a spot fire started in the Timberline Community west of Hwy 89 in the “GO” evacuation area. Deputies and Officers working overnight security in the evacuated areas recontacted the residents who refused to initially evacuate on Tuesday to notify them of the increased danger and remind them of the “GO” evacuation order. This fire was in the area of Wupatki Trails, Lenox Park, Pumpkin Patch, and Brandis Trail neighborhoods.

Additional resources are allowing firefighting efforts to expand to the east on the Tunnel Fire 14 miles northeast of Flagstaff, while firefighters wait to see if established lines around many parts of the 21,087-acre fire hold up to today’s critical fire weather and strong winds.
 
Since the start of the fire, firefighting efforts have focused on protecting homes and property on the west side of the fire—namely Timberline Estates and Wupatki Trails subdivisions, as well as along Forest Road 420 (Schultz Pass Road).
 

On Tuesday April 19, 2022 Sheriff Jim Driscoll ordered the “GO” evacuation of several
neighborhoods in the Timberline/Fernwood area north of Flagstaff along Highway 89. This was in
response to an active and fast-moving wildfire in the Coconino National Forest moving towards those neighborhoods.

Helicopters aided in fire suppression efforts today on the 20,198-acre Tunnel Fire, while crews continued making progress dowsing hotspots along the fire’s western flank near Forest Road 420 (Schultz Pass Road) and around Timberline Estates and Wupatki Trail subdivisions.
 county
In addition, hand crews continued establishing handline on the southern edge of the fire east of the Pinnacle Peak 345KV powerline and on the north edge of the fire below and east of O’Leary Peak. They will continue looking for opportunities to extend these fire lines to the east.

This release serves as a correction to an earlier press release distributed at 11:13 a.m.

The Tunnel Fire 14 miles northeast of Flagstaff grew an additional 3,087 acres Wednesday for a total of 19,712 acres of fire driven by strong winds across the landscape in a northeast direction.  
 

The Tunnel Fire 14 miles northeast of Flagstaff grew to 16,625 acres overnight and is still zero percent contained, as strong winds propelled the flames northeast over U.S. Highway 89 toward Bonito Park and the Sunset Crater National Monument area.
 

On April 19th, 2022, at 1100 hours the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office began evacuation operations in the Timberline – Fernwood areas north of Flagstaff along Hwy 89.

The  Coconino County Sheriff’s Office was advised by the United States Forest Service at approximately 8:00 am that the Tunnel Fire had jumped the fire line and was threatening the Timberline – Fernwood Area. The Sheriff’s Office began preparation in anticipation of a “GO” order from the Forest Service.