Firefighters preparing for increased activity with north-central Arizona fire
More than 120 personnel will work to battle increased fire activity later this week, as windy and dry conditions were expected to fuel the so-called Tinder Fire that has been burning in north-central Arizona for nearly two weeks.
(Twitter/@azstateforestry)
(Twitter/@azstateforestry)
PHOENIX — More than 120 personnel will work to battle increased fire activity later this week, as windy and dry conditions were expected to fuel the so-called Tinder Fire that has been burning in north-central Arizona for nearly two weeks.
The 16,309-acre fire broke out in the Coconino National Forest on April 27.
Even though crews have contained nearly 80 percent of the fire, winds in the area were expected to increase fire activity on Thursday and Friday, according to InciWeb.
The fire was located about 1.5 miles northeast of the Blue Ridge Reservoir.
More than 30 homes and 54 minor structures were destroyed.
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey declared a state of emergency last month, freeing up $200,000 in state funding to help with the wildfire.
U.S. Forest Service officials announced last week that an “abandoned illegal campfire” was to blame for the fire.
“Any time we enter restrictions or have even closed the forest, we still continue to find abandoned and illegal campfires,” Andy Pederson, Forest Service patrol captain for northern Arizona, said in a press release.
“This shows extreme lack of care for public safety and our natural resources when people would have an illegal campfire, much less abandon an illegal campfire.”
Officials were still searching for the person or persons responsible for the fire.
About half of Arizona was in the worst two categories of drought, a stark change from a year ago when only some areas were characterized as abnormally or moderately dry.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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