There will be a Backbone Fire Community Meeting Tonight at 5:30 p.m.

Where: Payson High School Auditorium located at 301 S. McLane Road, Payson, Arizona

The meeting will be open to the public and live streamed on Facebook Live at https://www.facebook.com/BackboneFireinfo  

Backbone Fire Morning Update June 21, 2021

Acres: 32,757 acres
Percent Containment: 0%
Start Date: June 16, 2021
Cause: Lightning
Origin Location: Approximately 12 miles west of Pine and Strawberry, Arizona
Fuels: Pinyon Juniper, Chaparral, Brush, Grass, Cactus
Personnel Assigned: 334 

Backbone Fire Community Meeting tonight at the Payson High School Auditorium 
There will be a community meeting tonight, Monday June 21, 2021 at 5:30 pm at the Payson High School Auditorium, 301 S. McLane Road, Payson Arizona.  The meeting will be open to the public and live streamed on the Incident Facebook Page

Dry conditions persist allowing for active to extreme burning conditions.  On the eastern side of the fire, firefighters and equipment will continue to construct and improve the community protection line around Strawberry.  Structure protection crews are working to protect values at risk and assess hazards in the communities of Strawberry and Pine.  Aircraft will be utilized to prevent the fire from establishing in Hardscrabble Canyon.  On the western side of the fire firefighters and heavy equipment are working to keep the fire east of the Verde River and surrounding subdivisions.

Public Land Closures:  An emergency area fire closure has been issued to protect public health and safety from fire activities.  All Tonto, Coconino, and Prescott National Forest lands, roads, and trails in the area of the Backbone Fire are closed. Full details of area and road closures are available on the Backbone Fire Inciweb page at: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/7545/

Road Closures: State Route 260 is closed between Camp Verde and state Route 87. State Route 87 is closed north of Payson to Clints Well. Motorists are advised to visit https://www.az511.com for current road closures before traveling.

APS is working closely with the agencies responding to the Backbone Fire. While APS doesn’t t currently anticipate a disruption in service, the fire’s progress is being monitored in the event there is a need to take power lines out of service to protect firefighters and/or the fire or smoke impacts to electrical infrastructure. Customers can visit aps.com/outagecenter for information on how to be prepared for an outage and to view the APS outage map.

Weather: Temperatures will remain well above normal and are exceeding 100 degrees with single-digit humidity.  Southwest winds will increase during the day with gusts of 20 to 25 mph possible.

Evacuations: Evacuation orders were issued for the communities of Pine and Strawberry. Residents and visitors should contact their county or visit https://ein.az.gov/ready-set-go for information regarding evacuation status.

No Drone Zone:  A temporary flight restriction remains in place over the Backbone Fire.

Fire Danger Remains Extreme.  All State Trust Land, Prescott, Tonto, and Coconino National Forests are under Stage II Fire Restrictions.  Please use caution when recreating or working outdoors. Check for fire restrictions or information on fire activity around Arizona at: https://wildlandfire.az.gov/ 

Backbone Fire Information 

• Phone: (928) 362-4088   

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BackboneFireInfo/ 

• Inciweb: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/7545/  

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/backbone_fire 

Backbone Fire Evening Update for June 20, 2021

 A recording of the June 20, 2021 Backbone Fire Community Meeting is available at https://fb.watch/6fMlC8C1V5/ 

Backbone Fire Community Meeting Tonight at 7:30 p.m.

Backbone Fire activity has increased to the north and west, moving towards Needle Rock Ranch and State Route 260. Residents of Camp Verde are seeing large smoke column this afternoon as winds push to the south. Water scooping aircraft is being used to keep the west side of the fire in-check, while resources on the ground put in hand and mechanical line.  

 Acres: 24,198 acres
 Percent Containment: 0%
 Start Date: June 16, 2021
 Cause: Lightning
 Origin Location: Approximately 12 miles west of Pine and Strawberry, Arizona
 Fuels: Pinyon Juniper, Chaparral, Brush, Grass, Cactus
 Personnel Assigned: 251 

Emergency Closure Issued for the Backbone Fire 

Overnight fire activity along the western flank of the fire was visible from Camp Verde. Firefighters continued to monitor the fire progression around the both the western and eastern flanks of the fire and continued to prepare containment features to support today’s operations. Today firefighters and heavy equipment will reinforce control features to the south and west of Strawberry and Pine; and prep for future burnout operations as necessary to strengthen holding features and protect the communities and values at risk.  Aviation resources will focus on keeping fire from moving into Deadman Mesa and Hardscrabble Canyon.

Another day of extreme fire behavior is expected with growth to the north and east.   

APS is working closely with the agencies responding to the Backbone Fire. While we don’t currently anticipate a disruption in service, we are monitoring the fire’s progress in the event there is a need to take power lines out of service to protect firefighters and/or the fire or smoke impacts to electrical infrastructure. Customers can visit aps.com/outagecenter for information on how to be prepared for an outage and to view the APS outage map.

Weather: Extreme temperatures will continue today with single digit humidity. Scattered dry thunderstorms may develop to the north and west this afternoon and linger into the evening.  Southwest winds will increase with gusts of 20 – 25 mph this afternoon.       

Evacuations: Evacuation orders were issued for the communities of Pine and Strawberry. Residents and visitors should contact their county or visit https://ein.az.gov/ready-set-go for information regarding evacuation status.

Closures: State Route 260 is closed between Camp Verde and State Route 87 and State Route 87 is closed north of Payson to Clint’s Week. Motorists are advised to visit at:  https://www.az511.com for current road closures before traveling.

The Fossil Creek recreation area is closed due to wildfire danger, which includes Waterfall Trail, Irving/Flume, Tonto Bench, Fossil Creek Bridge, Homestead, Sally May, Purple Mountain, Bob Bear Trail, and Mazatzal. Closures and other changes to recreation site status are available on the Coconino NF webpage at:  https://www.fs.usda.gov/recmain/coconino/recreation 
 
An emergency area fire closure has been issued to protect public health and safety from fire activities.  All Tonto, Coconino, and Prescott National Forest lands, roads, and trails in the area of the Backbone Fire are closed. Full details of area and road closures are available on the Backbone Fire Inciweb page at: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/7545/      

No Drone Zone:  A temporary flight restriction remains in place over the Backbone Fire. 

Fire Danger Remains Extreme.  All State Trust Land, Prescott, Tonto, and Coconino National Forests are under Stage II Fire Restrictions.  Please use caution when recreating or working outdoors. Check for fire restrictions or information on fire activity around Arizona at: https://wildlandfire.az.gov/  

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE FOREST SERVICE

COCONINO, PRESCOTT, & TONTO NATIONAL FORESTS
 

Emergency Area Closure
 

PROHIBITIONS Pursuant to 16 U.S.C. § 551 and 36 C.F.R. § 261.50(a), the following acts are prohibited within the area described in this Order (the “Restricted Area”), and as depicted on the attached map, hereby incorporated into this order as Exhibit A, within the Coconino, Prescott, and Tonto National Forests, State of Arizona. 1. Going into or being upon the Restricted Area. 36 C.F.R. § 261.52(e).

EXEMPTIONS Pursuant to 36 C.F.R. § 261.50(e), the following persons are exempt from this Order: 1. Persons with a written Forest Service authorization specifically exempting them from the effect of this Order; and 2. Any Federal, State, or local officer, or member of any organized rescue or fire fighting force in the performance of an official duty.
 

RESTRICTED AREA All National Forest System lands, roads and trails within the boundary starting at the intersection of AZ-260 and West Clear Creek, then following West Clear Creek to its confluence with Clover Creek, then continuing south along Clover Creek to its intersection with AZ-87, then continuing south along AZ-87 to its intersection with National Forest System Road (FR) 300, then following east along FR 300 to its intersection with Bray Creek, then following south along Bray Creek to its intersection with FR 64, then following east along FR 64 to its intersection with FR 233 (Little Diamond Road), then following south along FR 233 to its intersection with FR 1170, then following in a southerly direction along FR 1170 to its intersection with FR 1171, then following east along FR 1171 to the East Verde River, then continuing southwest/west along the East Verde River to its confluence with the Verde River, then following south along the Verde River to Willow Springs Trail (Sheeps Bridge), then following northwest along Willow Springs Trail to its intersection with FR 269 (Bloody Basin), then following northwest along FR 269 (Bloody Basin Road) to its intersection with FR 677 (Silver Creek Road), then following north along FR 677 (Silver Creek Road) to its intersection with Dugas Road, then following northwest along Dugas Road to its intersection with I-17, then following northeast along I-17, north bound lane,

ORDER 03-04-21-17 to its intersection with General Crook Highway, then following east along General Crook Highway to its intersection with AZ-260, then following southeast along AZ-260 back to the point of beginning, at its intersection with West Clear Creek, as depicted in Exhibit A of this Order.

NOTE: All perimeter roads identified as the Restricted Area boundary are not restricted by this Order and remain open to travel. The status of I-17, AZ-87, and AZ-260 as open or closed will be managed by the Arizona Department of Transportation.
 

PURPOSE The purpose of this Order is to protect public health and safety from fire activities in the Restricted Area.
 

IMPLEMENTATION 1. This Order will be in effect on June 19, 2021, at 9:00 p.m., and shall remain in effect until December 31, 2021, or until rescinded, whichever occurs first. 2. A map identifying the Restricted Area is attached and made a part of this Order as

Exhibit A. 3. Any violation of the above prohibition is punishable as a Class B misdemeanor, by a fine of not more than $5,000.00 for individuals and $10,000.00 for organizations, or by imprisonment for not more than six (6) months, or both (see 16 U.S.C. § 551, 18 U.S.C. § 3571(b)(6), 18 U.S.C. § 3581(b)(7)). 4. Further information regarding this Order may be obtained at the Coconino National

Forest Supervisor’s Office in Flagstaff, Arizona at (928) 527-3600, the Tonto National

Forest Supervisor’s Office at (602) 225-5200, or via Inciweb at Backbone Fire Information - InciWeb the Incident Information System (nwcg.gov).

5. This Order supersedes any previous orders prohibiting the same acts covered by this Order.

A recording of the June 19, 20219 Backbone Fire Virtual Meeting is available at https://fb.watch/6eufG-bzQA/

Payson evacuation site will move from the Rim Country Middle School to the Payson High School Dome