Fire Information Public Phone Line: (928) 421-4579               

 Inciweb: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/7567/ 
 Email: 2021.Rafael@firenet.gov                                                
 Twitter: https://twitter.com/RafaelFireInfo/ 
 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RafaelFireInfo/       

                                     Rafael Fire Morning Update – July 2, 2021 
 
 Acres: 78,065 
 Percent Containment: 91% 
 Date/Time Detected: Friday, 06/18/2021 at 1927 MST 
 Structures Damaged/Destroyed:  1  
 Number of Personnel: 281 
 Cause: Lightning 

 Origin/Location: 4 miles north of Perkinsville  

 A Type 3 Incident Command Team led by Incident Commander Troy Mueller, assumed management of the Rafael Fire today at 6 a.m. Crews continued with mop up, patrol and suppression repair work. 

   Today, crews will continue to patrol and mop up around the fire to secure the perimeter. Interior areas of the fire are expected to continue to burn and there may be smoke visible as these areas continue to burn. The Burned Area
Emergency Response team is in place and is continuing assessing burn severity over the entire fire. 

All communities affected by the fire are in “READY evacuation status.  However, all areas within the Coconino, Kaibab, and Prescott National Forests remain closed to entry, regardless of evacuation status. Questions concerning Forest closures should be directed to each respective Forests.  Updates to Forest closures can be found at Coconino National Forest - Alerts & Notices (usda.gov)    Kaibab National Forest - Alerts & Notices (usda.gov).  

and Prescott National Forest - Alerts & Notices (usda.gov). 

Information about evacuation status can be found on the Coconino County Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/CoconinoCounty and at the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Department Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/YavapaiCountySheriff/  Maps of evacuation status in Coconino County can be found at: Coconino County Situational Awareness Viewer (arcgis.com) 

It’s fire season in Northern Arizona. Residents in Northern Arizona should be Ready.  https://ein.az.gov/ready-set-go 

Full forest closures are in effect on the Kaibab National Forest, Coconino National Forest, and Prescott National Forest   Coconino National Forest - Alerts & Notices (usda.gov)    Kaibab National Forest - Alerts & Notices (usda.gov).  

and Prescott National Forest - Alerts & Notices (usda.gov) 

All Arizona State Trust lands are closed. Fire Restrictions and Closures Across Arizona | Department of Forestry and Fire Management (az.gov) 

Smoke forecasts are available at Wildfire Smoke Forecast | ADEQ Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (azdeq.gov) and https://fires.airfire.org/outlooks/NorthCentralArizona. 

Updates will be posted every other day.  The next update will be Sunday, July 4th. 
 
# # # 

  Fire Information Public Phone Line: (928) 421-4579                Fire Information Media Phone Line: (928) 421-4983

This team’s last scheduled virtual community meeting will be tonight at 6 p.m. on the Incident Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/RafaelFireInfo/

 See attached bulletin for: Smoke Outlook for 6/30-07/01 North Central AZ Rafael Fire Issued on June 30 at 8:55 MDT

Latest technology? Yep we got that working for you. One such technological advance is the use of Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS), more commonly referred to as drones. Drones are being used on the Rafael Fire to increase the firefighters Situational Awareness through the use of thermal imaging camera that can fly when other aircraft cannot.  The drone can see through the smoke that can detect the fires edge and or spot fires across a fire line that heavy smoke makes difficult to detect. The ability to fly where other aircraft cannot limit both pilot and fire fighter exposure to smoke.  Drones are also being utilized as a burnout tool by dropping plastic sphere dispensers (PSD) that start fires in desired locations to stop the advancing wildfire. The plastic spheres contain potassium permanganate and are injected with ethylene glycol (antifreeze) by the PSD before being discharged. A chemical reaction between the potassium permanganate and ethylene glycol causes the sphere to ignite approximately 20 to 30 seconds after injection.

The Lakeview Interagency Hotshot Crew from Oregon have a certified Unmanned Aerial System (drone) pilot and aircraft and have utilized their ship for multiple missions on the Rafael Fire.  The video displays the use of their thermal imagery camera capabilities during the burning operations that took place on the northwest portion of the fire on June 27.  The bright white areas of the image are heat sources form the firing operations.  Note that the individual small circles are where plastic sphere dispensers (PSD) have been dropped to provide depth of burned fuels to the control lines. The aircraft used by Lakeview IHC is a DJI M600 that has DJIXT2 FLIR (Forward Looking Infrared Radar) and EO (Electro Optical) camera. It can also dispense PSD with an IGNIS 2 PSD platform.

The Coconino County Sheriff's Office Evacuation Update:
Areas East and West of Sycamore Canyon Downgraded from "Go" to "Set".
(See attached PDF for more information)

(See attached bulletin for: Smoke Outlook for 6/29-6/30 North Central AZ Rafael Fire Issued on June 29,2021 at 8:18 MDT)

Fire Information Public Phone Line: (928) 421-4579 
Fire Information Media Phone Line: (928) 421-4983 
Email: 2021.Rafael@firenet.gov                                               
Inciweb: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/7567/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RafaelFireInfo/    
Twitter: https://twitter.com/RafaelFireInfo/

                                     Rafael Fire Morning Update – June 29, 2021

The next scheduled virtual community meeting will be Wednesday, June 30 at 6 p.m. on the Incident Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/RafaelFireInfo/

Acres: 78,708
Percent Containment: 59%
Date/Time Detected: Friday, 06/18/2021 at 1927 MST
Structures Damaged/Destroyed:  0
Number of Personnel: 596
Cause: Lightning
Origin/Location: 4 miles north of Perkinsville
 

No smoke is being detected on any air quality monitors this morning. Tonight, what smoke is present may settle into the Chino and Verde Valleys.  Smoke forecasts are available at Wildfire Smoke Forecast | ADEQ Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (azdeq.gov) and https://fires.airfire.org/outlooks/NorthCentralArizona.

Today, crews will continue to patrol and mop up to secure the fire perimeter. Firefighters will begin to chip woody debris that was created during line preparation activities and either remove the chips or spread it on the ground. Smoke from burning interior fuels will continue to be visible for a few days. On the south side of the fire the remaining structure protection crew will be released. Thunderstorms and possible rain are predicted for this afternoon. Firefighters around the fire are prepared to take suppression action on any new ignitions resulting from lightning strikes. The process of demobilizing Crews and equipment will continue.

Unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) were used for multiple operations on the Rafael Fire.  These operations are coordinated with other aerial operations within the Temporary Flight Restriction for the Rafael Fire to keep all operations safe.  Wildfires are no place for recreational drones—they put firefighters and aircraft personnel at risk and will shut down aircraft operations, hampering firefighting as well as firefighter safety.  Remember if you fly, we can’t.
 

Evacuation status as of 6 a.m. June 29 (Notifications are in place until status is rescinded or changed by each respective County Sheriff’s Office):
   “GO” in Coconino County Sycamore    Canyon

“SET” in Yavapai County, Loy Ranch

“READY” in Coconino County, Garland Prairie South and Garland Prairie North, South of Williams, Sherwood Forest, Camp Navajo, West of I-17 south of 1-40, Westwood Estates, Flagstaff Ranch (including W.L. Gore), Mountain Dell, Pine Del, Forest Highlands, Kachina Village, University Heights, Equestrian Estates, Upper Oak Creek Canyon, West Fork, Lower Oak Creek Canyon, and in Yavapai County, Grey Ranch, Windmill Ranch, Bear Mountain and Sedona.

Information about evacuation status can be found on the Coconino County Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/CoconinoCounty and at the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Department Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/YavapaiCountySheriff/  Maps of evacuation status in Coconino County can be found at: Coconino County Situational Awareness Viewer (arcgis.com)

It’s fire season in Northern Arizona. Residents in Northern Arizona should be Ready.  https://ein.az.gov/ready-set-go

Full forest closures are in effect on the Kaibab National Forest, Coconino National Forest, and Prescott National Forest   Coconino National Forest - Alerts & Notices (usda.gov)    Kaibab National Forest - Alerts & Notices (usda.gov) and Prescott National Forest - Alerts & Notices (usda.gov)

Please see attached PDF to view evening update.

Fire Information Public Phone Line: (928) 421-4579 
Fire Information Media Phone Line: (928)421-4983           
Email: 2021.Rafael@firenet.gov                                               
Inciweb: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/7567/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RafaelFireInfo/      
 Twitter: https://twitter.com/RafaelFireInfo/

RAFAEL FIRE UPDATE:

The Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office is pleased to announce that due to the diligent efforts of the firefighter and the Southwest Area Type 1 Incident Management Team 2 working on the Rafael Fire that the risks to residents living in the areas off FS Road 525 and Bill Gray Road have been dramatically reduced.

Residents of the Loy Ranch Area who were in a “Go” status may return to their ranches and are now in a “Set” status. Residents of the areas off Bill Gray Road, Forest Service Roads 525, 525C, 152C and Bear Mountain Road have had their readiness levels reduced to “Ready” status.

Residents of Sedona who live north of AZ-89A, Sedona Shadows, Enchantment Resort, Seven Canyons and The Aerie remain in “Ready” status but again risks from the Rafael Fire itself have been greatly diminished.

We only sent this message via Code Red to residents who had registered a phone number which we could call, TDY, or text or to their email address. We did not send the message via the Code Red App due to a technical issue on which we are waiting for a resolution. We should always consider ourselves in “Ready” and follow the preparedness guidelines on preparedness from https://ready.gov/

As a reminder, Arizona State Trust Lands remain closed to camping or recreational use. The Coconino National Forest remains closed. These public lands also prohibit residential use. Entering or camping in these areas during this time is a violation of the Stage 3 Fire Ban.

Please make sure you’re taking of your mental health. The effects of stress and anxiety can accumulate and have a real impact. Please call 211 for the Resilient Arizona Crisis Counseling Network if you need help. You can call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or the National Substance Use and Disorder Issues Referral and Treatment Hotline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357). You can also text the word "HOME" to 741741 Please make sure you sign up for Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office Code Red at https://www.ycsoaz.gov/.../Emergency-Notification-System Continue to stay generally prepared and aware of the latest news and information from local media, your local fire department and public safety officials.