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Natural Barriers Allow Crews to Make Progress on Fires

Cottonwood Ridge, Snake Ridge, Spoon and New Fire Starts – August 3, 2023, Daily Update

Cottonwood Ridge Fire Quick Facts

Acres: 345
Cause: Lightning
Containment: 65%
Start Date: July 23, 2023
Location: 4 miles south of Show Low, AZ
Fuels: Timber, grass, brush

Snake Ridge Fire Quick Facts
Acres: 42 acres
Cause: Lightning
Containment: 79%
Start Date: July 28, 2023
Location: 11 miles southwest of Show Low, AZ.
Fuels:  Grass, Brush

Total personnel for all incidents: 428  (Cottonwood Ridge, Snake Ridge, Spoon, and new start fires)

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.

New fires identified yesterday were caught quickly due to rapid initial attack response from firefighters. Two of the new starts were stopped at one acre. Crews were able to confirm that another new start has no remaining heat sources. One fire had firefighters rappel out of a helicopter to contain the fire and ensure no heat sources remained near containment lines. Two additional fires have two crews and engines providing fire response efforts.

Crews will begin repairing damage caused by building containment lines, including water barring areas where the fire is cold to the touch. They will also continue to construct handlines and dozer lines along the fire’s edge.

Cottonwood Ridge Fire Update: Crews are patrolling the fire perimeter for hotspots, finding few heat sources along established containment lines. Their diligent efforts provided a 15% increase to the fire’s containment, amounting to a total of 65% containment.

Snake Ridge Fire Update: Crews spread out to patrol the fire for hotspots, like the Cottonwood Ridge and Spoon fires, they found little need for mop up and their efforts provided a substantial 29% increase to the fire’s containment, amounting to a total of 79% containment.

Weather: Warm weather in the 90s along with dry and breezy conditions are expected in the coming days. The weather continues to provide potential for news fire starts, but firefighters remain ready to respond to any news fires.

 Evacuations: None. For awareness regarding evacuations, familiarization with the Ready, Set, Go evacuation model is encouraged. Community members may also sign up for the Navajo County Alert System at https://tinyurl.com/y4vwrasw.

Smoke: Smoke may still be visible as pockets of heat continue to smolder. For information on smoke and air quality, visit https://www.airnow.gov.

Closures: Highway 60 remains open. The southwest portion of Fort Apache is closed, including all Salt River sites within the closure area.

Fire Restrictions: There are several fire restrictions in place depending on location.

• Fort Apache Agency: Stage 2 Fire Restrictions
  No campfire, fireworks, outdoor smoking, debris burning or discharging of firearms. Power saws cannot be used between 10 am and 8 pm. All motorized travel is restricted to developed roads.
• Show Low, Navajo County and Apache Sitgreaves National Forests: Stage 1 Fire Restrictions
  No campfires (except in developed recreation sites), no smoking outdoors, no welding, no fireworks.

More Information:

Inciweb:

• Cottonwood Ridge: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident-information/azfta-cottonwood-ridge-fire
• Spoon: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident-information/azfta-spoon-fire

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BIAFAAFireMgt/