BUSH FIRE EVENING UPDATE: The Bush Fire started at approximately 2:00 pm today, near the intersection of Bush Hwy and Hwy 87. The fire is estimated to be 600 acres, and burning to the north towards the Sugarloaf Recreation area along the southbound lanes of Hwy 87. The fire has crossed Hwy 87 to the east and is now burning along Four Peaks Road. There is no containment at this time.
Currently there are 9 engines, 2 hotshot crews and 4 airtankers assigned to the fire. Three additional crews and multiple engines have been ordered, and are responding to the fire. Firefighters are working to hold the fire on the west side of Hwy 87, and are building containment lines and using firing operations to suppress the fire.
Hwy 87 is currently closed in both directions at the FS RD 143, which is the road to Four Peaks and Sugarloaf. At this time, Lower Sycamore Canyon, Sugarloaf Recreation area and Four Peaks Recreation area are closed. The Bush Fire is currently under investigation. Law enforcement personnel are conducting sweeps of the closure areas to safely escort members of public out of the fire area. No structures are threatened at this time and no injuries have been reported.
TLDR: 87 is closed at 4 peaks road and you will have to go through globe to get to payson
Edit: Now the reroute through globe is no longer viable, access between payson and phoenix is via camp verde
Edit2: Fire has been contained and the highways reopened, thanks to the firefighter crews.
Last edited by nonot on Jun 28 2020 11:43 am, edited 2 times in total.
Hike Arizona it is full of sharp, pointy, ankle-twisting, HAZmaster crushing ROCKS!!
Hike Arizona it is full of sharp, pointy, shin-stabbing, skin-shredding plants!
Hike Arizona it is full of striking, biting, stabbing, venomous wildlife!
@big_load
I imagine the rocks will be fine, and the pottery has seen fire before and will also be fine. Keep in mind the area has probably burned every 20-50 years in the thousand years that have gone by since they were inhabited.
Hike Arizona it is full of sharp, pointy, ankle-twisting, HAZmaster crushing ROCKS!!
Hike Arizona it is full of sharp, pointy, shin-stabbing, skin-shredding plants!
Hike Arizona it is full of striking, biting, stabbing, venomous wildlife!
"Residents in the following communities should be ready to evacuate and are on "Set" mode:
•76 Ranch
•BT Ranch
•Deer Creek
•Guy Seala
•Rye
People along Highway 188 in Gila County were ordered to evacuate on Thursday afternoon because of the Bush Fire.
The U.S. Forest Service said all residents and businesses on the state highway from Punkin Center to the junction with Highway 87 were told to leave. That includes Jakes Corner, Pioneer Pass, Brownsville and Slate Creek."
chumley wrote: ↑Jun 16 2020 8:26 am
Now 65,000 acres.
If they can hold a line at the 188 even with high winds, it might just be allowed to burn the entire interior "triangle" bordered by the 87 / 188 / and the Salt River.
There's not much private property to protect in that area (which is apparently the only thing anybody cares about anymore). Private property along the 188 is probably being back-burned now. Amethyst mine. The comm towers on El Oso Road. Mt. Ord summit facilities. Ballentine Cabin. A few pockets of private property on Ord. Anything else?
It is now quite apparent this is their strategy. Back burns have completed yesterday along 188 from the dam to Punkin center, and today they are going to finish the remaining back burns between Punkin and the 87, protecting Jakes Corner. This has already taken the steam out of most of the eastern flank of the fire.
It also appears they are continuing today with a focused job around Sunflower to conduct back burns while protecting it from jumping 87. I can imagine with the winds we've been having that is the most tense area of this fight.
Hike Arizona it is full of sharp, pointy, ankle-twisting, HAZmaster crushing ROCKS!!
Hike Arizona it is full of sharp, pointy, shin-stabbing, skin-shredding plants!
Hike Arizona it is full of striking, biting, stabbing, venomous wildlife!
I swear I can now see the smoke from my house up on the 101 and Cave Creek. I saw the plumes this morning and then after my gym class the plumes had flattened and spread out across the sky along the McDowells. But now as I look out my window to the NE at home, I see what appears to be smoke as it's pretty low and not high like clouds. I went outside but couldn't smell anything. I'll check later.
I've been seeing the smoke every day in the east while I'm out driving from the big plumes to the long flat layers. Incredible!
For me, sometimes it's just as much about the journey as the destination. Oh, and once in awhile, don't forget to look back at the trail you've traveled.
Is it possible I'm seeing this smoke plume from Safford now?
I don't see anything else on Inciweb in that direction except the Blue River fire, which is supposed to be 85% contained ...
@chumley
We have been seeing that smoke drifting in for a few days, but this is an actual plume rising up, not drifting in. Very noticable kind of suddenly this afternoon.
@cactuscat
Ok, then if you're at Roper it looks to be the Bush Fire. It's about 110 miles to Four Peaks from there. Is that the Santa Teresas under the plume on the right side of the photo?
I'm not sure what my spirit animal is, but I'm confident it has rabies.
@azbackpackr
Gisela was named after the heroine in the book Countess Gisela by E. Marlitt. The town schoolteacher was reading the book to her students when she was asked by her husband, the postmaster, to help name the little settlement. She asked the school children what names they liked, and they voted to name their new town Gisela. The students didn't know how to pronounce the name correctly, so they called it Guy-SEE-la.
There is an area burning just outside of Safford town boundaries - it's in the natural area on both side of the river bounded by Bryce-Eden road. Not a named fire yet.
Hike Arizona it is full of sharp, pointy, ankle-twisting, HAZmaster crushing ROCKS!!
Hike Arizona it is full of sharp, pointy, shin-stabbing, skin-shredding plants!
Hike Arizona it is full of striking, biting, stabbing, venomous wildlife!
NWS PHX posted this image of the Bush fire perimeter overlayed on a map of Phoenix to show the scale in terms most of us are more familiar with.
The perimeter would extend from Estrella Peak in the southwest to Loop 101 in Chandler in the southeast, all the way to Deer Valley Airport north of Loop 101 in the north valley.
Attachments
I'm not sure what my spirit animal is, but I'm confident it has rabies.
Route Editor
Route Scout
