Daily Operational Video available on the Cassadore Springs Fire Facebook Page:
English: https://www.facebook.com/CassadoreSpringsFireInfo/videos/3236057556449863/
Apache: https://www.facebook.com/CassadoreSpringsFireInfo/videos/336756927730852/

Turning the Corner on the Cassadore Springs Fire
Cassadore Springs Fire - August 10, 2020 Daily Update

Ko' Ba Nagoni i' 

Acres: 20,337
 
Start Date: August 1, 2020
 
Cause: Lightning
 
Location: 11 miles north of San Carlos, AZ
 
Containment: 26%
 
Fuels: Brush, Grass, ponderosa pine
 
Total personnel: 371 

Overview: The lightning-caused Cassadore Springs Fire is burning in the Hilltop area on the San Carlos Apache Reservation lands. On Monday August 3rd, the San Carlos Agency delegated authority to the Southwest Area Type 2 Incident Management Team 4 to manage the incident.

Fire Activity and Operations: Firefighters made good progress on the Cassadore Springs Fire yesterday. Observations show that the southern flanks are quiet and cool. The eastern side down the Nantanes Plateau and Sontag Creek has proven secure and cooling more each day. On the northern end near Sawmill, Friday’s burnout operation is holding and firefighters are working to mop up the edges of the containment lines. One area of concern for fire growth has been the Alder Creek drainage. On Saturday, helicopters cooled the fire edge with water drops and reduced the flames significantly. Yesterday, two hotshot crews and the San Carlos Type 2 Initial Attack Crew entered the western fire edge along the rim and completed a fireline, securing the flank and reducing the risk of fire becoming established in Alder Creek.

Expect to see smoke today, heavy at times, due to a planned burnout operation in the Sawmill area. The backburn is needed to secure a two square-mile area of unburned fuels in the interior area of Friday’s firing operation. This backburn will again produce low intensity fire along the ground, removing dead and down logs, brush, and grass that could otherwise carry sufficient heat to jump the control lines, if left unchecked. The burnout will only occur if conditions are right. Otherwise, crews may conduct these operations on a more favorable day.

No new fire starts were detected yesterday after Friday’s lightning storm. Crews remain vigilant to identify any new fires that may pop up today. Crews from the Cassadore Springs Fire remained on the Winters and Glade fires, mopping up and preventing any possible rekindling of the flames.

Weather: An Excessive Heat Warning is in effect today for elevations below 3,700 ft. High temperatures will run six to ten degrees warmer than average and only a few degrees away from record levels, with readings over 100 degrees. Humidity levels and afternoon breezes will be more reminiscent of mid-June rather than mid-August. A little moisture may bring a few thunderstorms by weeks end, hopefully with some much-needed rain.

 Daily Operational Video available on the Cassadore Springs Fire Facebook Page:
English: https://www.facebook.com/CassadoreSpringsFireInfo/videos/293285838647094/ 
Apache: https://www.facebook.com/CassadoreSpringsFireInfo/videos/313504043344161/

Video about burnout operations on the Cassadore Springs Fire Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/CassadoreSpringsFireInfo/videos/926515237817849/

Rain and Lightning on the Cassadore Springs Fire 
    

Cassadore Springs Fire – August 9, 2020 Daily Update 

Ko’ Ba Nagoni i’ 

Acres: 19,952 acres 

Start Date: August 1, 2020 

Cause: Lightning  

Containment: 25% 

Total personnel: 369 

Location: 11 miles north of San Carlos, AZ 

Fuels: Brush, grass, ponderosa pine 

Overview: The lightning-caused Cassadore Springs Fire is burning in the Hilltop area on the San Carlos Apache Reservation lands. It was first discovered on August 1st and quickly spread to the northeast towards the Natanes Plateau. On Monday August 3rd, the San Carlos Agency delegated authority to the Southwest Area Type 2 Incident Management Team 4 to manage the incident. 

Fire Activity and Operations: Yesterday afternoon, thunderstorms formed over the Cassadore Springs Fire, bringing isolated rain, lightning, and wind gusts up to 38 miles per hour. Two-tenths of an inch of rain fell on the northern and eastern fire landscape. Just two days ago, the fire threatened to overrun Sontag Creek. Due to hard work by firefighters and the help of the rain, this area is now fairly secure. Helicopters worked the western edge of the fire with water drops to improve conditions near Alder Creek so that hotshot crews have the option to safely secure the fire edge in the near future. 

In addition to managing the Cassadore Springs Fire, the Type 2 Team is responsible for providing initial attack for any new fire starts within the planning area and general surroundings. Lightning resulted in multiple new fire starts yesterday, including a new fire off the 1300 Road near Glade Tank. Two engines and a crew from the Cassadore Springs Fire responded and held the fire to 1/2 acre before containing it. Personnel also assisted the Tonto National Forest with initial attack efforts on a new fire start, named the Winters Fire, just north of our Incident Command Post off Highway 60. Three helicopters dropped water while two handcrews, a helitack crew, and a Liaison Officer assisted with the fire fight alongside the US Forest Service firefighters and aircraft. The Winters Fire was contained at approximately 450 acres by Saturday afternoon. At least 29 more lightning strikes hit the area 10 to 15 miles northeast of the fire.  

Closures: There is a Temporary Flight Restriction over the fire area. The public is encouraged to stay safely clear of the fire area. The 1120 road to the south, 1122 road to the west, 1300 road to the north, and 1220 road to the east are closed due to fire activity and firefighters working along these roadways. Please visit the Cassadore Springs Fire Inciweb page at the link below for official fire information. 

Nowhi ni’ nłt’eego ánłsih 

 The daily operational video is now available in both English and Apache language on the Cassadore Springs Fire Facebook page.
English: https://www.facebook.com/CassadoreSpringsFireInfo/videos/1532506580262301/
Apache: https://www.facebook.com/CassadoreSpringsFireInfo/videos/2984880194974899/

Progress on the Cassadore Springs Fire   

Cassadore Springs Fire – August 8, 2020 Daily Update

Ko’ Ba Nagoni i’

Acres: 19,628 acres

Start Date: August 1, 2020

Cause: Lightning

Containment: 25%

Total personnel: 369

Location: 11 miles north of San Carlos, AZ

Fuels: Brush, grass, ponderosa pine

Overview: The lightning-caused Cassadore Springs Fire is burning in the Hilltop area on the San Carlos Apache Reservation lands. It was first discovered on August 1st and quickly spread to the northeast towards the Natanes Plateau. On Monday August 3rd, the San Carlos Agency delegated authority to the Southwest Area Type 2 Incident Management Team 4 to manage the incident.

Fire Activity and Operations: On Friday afternoon, firefighters conducted a large burnout operation on the northwestern portion of the fire off of the 1100 Road west towards Sawmill and south towards Hilltop. Burnouts are low intensity ground fires lit by firefighters from a control feature, such as a road. As a result of these operations, an increase in smoke production was seen from surrounding areas yesterday. The burnout is part of the “catcher’s mitt” discussed in yesterday’s update and is intended to stop the forward progress of the fire in timber country.

Crews working on the eastern edge of the fire made good progress yesterday and were able to secure the fire’s edge from the 1220 Road, across Sontag Creek, and down into the Blue River Fire burn scar. The potential still exists for fire to run up Sontag Creek, but the risk has been significantly reduced.

On the western flank, the fire is currently holding on the upper rim. If fire was to run down into the Alder Creek drainage, the potential exists for a strong push up the canyon. Helicopters are dropping water buckets in this area to cool the fire’s edge, as the terrain is too steep and hazardous to put ground crews into the canyon. Yesterday’s burnout operation will help to prevent negative impacts if fire becomes established in Alder Creek.

Weather: An Excessive Heat Warning is in effect Sunday through Monday for elevations below 3,700 ft. The weather forecast for next week will resemble June-like conditions rather than what we would typically see in the second week of August. The monsoon season continues to be a no-show. Temperatures will steadily increase through the weekend, peaking on Monday with forecast highs in the 90s on the rim and 105 to 110 in the valleys. These readings will approach or reach record levels Sunday into Tuesday. Afternoon humidity levels will also continue reaching lows not seen in the last 30 years for early to mid-August, very dry indeed!

Nowhi ni’ nłt’eego ánłsih
Inciweb: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/6913/
Cassadore Springs Fire Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CassadoreSpringsFireInfo/
San Carlos Apache Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SCATFORESTRY
Smoke Report: http://www.azdeq.gov/wildfireforecast?fire=cassadorespringsfire

 Firefighters will be conducting burnout operations this afternoon off of the 1100 Road. Burnouts rob the main fire of fuel by burning from an anchor point in a controlled manner.Expect to see an uptake of smoke from the Cassadore Springs Fire in the next few hours.

The daily operational video is now available in both English and Apache language on the Cassadore Springs Fire Facebook page.

English: https://www.facebook.com/CassadoreSpringsFireInfo/videos/1148432828856525
Apache: https://www.facebook.com/CassadoreSpringsFireInfo/videos/217853982933439

Building the Cassadore Springs Fire “Catcher’s Mitt”  

Cassadore Springs Fire – August 7, 2020 Daily Update

Ko’ Ba Nagoni i’         

Acres: 19,257 acres

Start Date: August 1, 2020

Cause: Lightning

Containment: 25%

Total personnel: 331

Location: 11 miles north of San Carlos, AZ

Fuels: Brush, grass, ponderosa pine

Overview: The lightning-caused Cassadore Springs Fire is burning in the Hilltop area on the San Carlos Apache Reservation lands. It was first discovered on August 1st and quickly spread to the northeast towards the Natanes Plateau. On Monday August 3rd, the San Carlos Agency delegated authority to the Southwest Area Type 2 Incident Management Team 4 to manage the incident.

Highlights: Several factors are contributing to increasingly complex conditions on the Cassadore Springs Fire. On a scale of 1 (lowest) to 5 (highest), the National Preparedness Level for wildland fire management is currently rated at 4. Preparedness Levels are dictated by fuel and weather conditions, fire activity, and fire suppression resource availability throughout the country. In Arizona, the National Weather Service is reporting this year as the least active monsoon season in 30 years, with no significant changes in sight. Lastly, Energy Release Components (ERCs) are currently at or above record highs for August. ERCs are a measure of the potential available energy in the flaming front of the fire, so the higher the ERC, the more intensely fires can burn.

Fire Activity and Operations: On Wednesday night, crews began burning out fuels from the 1100 Road south to the fire’s edge to create a buffer to the north of the fire and limit forward spread. This action creates a control line ahead of the fire’s path that is similar to the shape of a catcher’s mitt. Yesterday, these efforts were challenged when the relative humidity dropped below 13% in the afternoon and the fire pushed against those lines, eventually spotting across the line in one area. Engine crews were able to catch the spot fire and hold the line while air tankers and Type 1 helicopters provided support with retardant and water drops. At this point, firefighters have been successful in keeping fire from becoming established in Alder Creek.

On the eastern flank, crews are working to keep fire from entering the Sontag Creek drainage. If fire enters this area, it has the potential to produce flames 10 to 20 feet high. Fire crews are building control lines down the fire’s edge from the 1220 Road while others work north from the Blue River Fire scar. Air tankers are supporting this operation by applying retardant drops to keep the fire edge cool enough for ground crews to work. Fire managers are showing 25% containment along the southern end of the Cassadore Springs Fire. Crews are scouting contingency lines to hold the fire within a larger area if the primary and alternate plans are tested.

Nowhi ni’ nłt’eego ánłsih

Inciweb: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/6913/

Cassadore Springs Fire Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CassadoreSpringsFireInfo/

San Carlos Apache Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SCATFORESTRY

Smoke Report: http://www.azdeq.gov/wildfireforecast?fire=cassadorespringsfire