Gladiator Fire
May
20, 2012 @ 9:00 am
Size: Approximately 12,898 acres Containment: 12%
Cause: Human caused; originated
from a structure fire on private property
Time/Date Started: Sunday, May 13 at
11:00 am
Location: Community of Crown King (T10N, R1W, S14)
Fuels: Ponderosa pine and
chaparral
Values
at Risk: Community of
Crown King, structures in Battle Flat, Pine Flats, and Turkey Creek areas,
communications sites, power lines and historic sites within the Forest.
Residences
Destroyed: 4
Terrain: Steep,
rugged, difficult access
Resources: 13
Type-1 Crews, 13 Type-2 Crews, 36 Engines, 5 Dozers, 5 Type 1 Helicopters, 2
Type 2 Helicopters, 2 Type 3 Helicopters, Air Attack
Total no. of
personnel: 1,048 personnel Injuries
to date: 6
Estimated Costs to
Date: $5,222,906
There will be a community meeting for area
residents at 3 pm, today, May 20 at the Mayer High School, 17300 East Mule Deer
Drive, Spring Valley, AZ. From 3 pm
to 4 pm a fire update will be provided.
From 4 pm to 5 pm a tutorial will be presented on use of Google Earth to
determine the location of your property in relation to the Gladiator Fire.
FORECASTED WEATHER PORTENDS ACTIVE FIRE
BEHAVIOR
High
temperatures and low humidity will contribute to very active to extreme fire
behavior today, even though winds will be light. Single digit humidity over the fire will be of
several hours duration, allowing fire in very dry fuels to steadily increase in
intensity. Probability of ignition is 100%, which means any windblown ember
will ignite a new fire.
Crews
will continue patrol around Crown King, looking for and suppressing any spot
fires which may exist. Firefighters will
patrol and hold Forest Road 52, and may perform burnout operations to the west
toward Senator Highway if necessary. Crews
are clearing brush along Senator Highway, and in the Pine Flat area masticators
and chainsaw crews continue to reduce vegetative fuel. On the east side of the fire, crews continue
to strengthen contingency lines by clearing vegetation.
Light
winds today will allow extensive use of helicopter bucket drops to cool the
fire’s edge.
Smoke will be very visible today over the fire, as
unstable air allows the smoke column to build.
A
hotter, drier trend with higher winds is expected over the next few days.
An
evacuation order remains in effect for the community of Crown King, and the
Battle Flat, Pine Flat, and Turkey
Creek areas. For questions about
Evacuations and Roadblocks contact the Yavapai County Sherriff’s Office at
928-713-2709. Be aware that rumors of evacuations are abundant, and ONLY
evacuation orders issued by the Sheriff’s Office are valid!
The Red Cross Reception Center is
located at Mayer Elementary School, Mayer, AZ. Red Cross personnel can be reached at 928-237-6751.
A Closure Order is in effect for all
Prescott National Forest land south of County Road 177.
The following roads have been closed:
- All roads leading into the community of Crown King are closed.
- Cleator – Crown King Road (County Road 59) is closed at Cleator.
·
Senator Highway to Crown King (County Road 52)
is closed at the junction with Poland Rd. (County Road 58). .
·
Mayer-Bolander Road (County Road 177) is closed
at the Forest Boundary.
·
Forest Road 711 is closed south of the Forest
boundary at Cow Creek.
·
Forest Road 362 is closed south of the Forest
boundary at Wagner.
·
Forest Road 192 is closed
A Yavapai County fire ban is in effect
across all fire ban zones. Prescott
National Forest Campfire and Smoking Restrictions are also in effect. For AZ Fire Info & Restrictions
Information call 1-877-864-6985 or visit http://wildlandfire.az.gov.
For more smoke information and air quality forecasts, visit http://www.azfireinfo.com/links.asp#Smoke. Highway conditions can be found at az511.gov,,
or by calling 511.
The public can obtain fire information via the following:
- Gladiator Fire Information: 928-632-4368 or 928-632-4420 (7am to 10pm)
- Prescott National Forest Fire Information Hotline: 928-777-5799 (recorded message)
- Gladiator Fire Incident Website: http://www.inciweb.org or www.fs.fed.us/r3/prescott
- Media duty officers: 928-515-9112 or 928-515-9142 (7 am to 10 pm)
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