Poco Fire near Young now at 1,000 acres

Poco Fire on Tonto National Forest

6 miles northeast of Young, Ariz., June 15, 1015 hrs.

Updated 2:20 p.m. June 15: Poco fire area closure on Tonto National Forest

Young, Ariz. (June 15, 2012) – Tonto National Forest officials announced today a temporary closure due to the Poco fire which began on June 14, six miles northeast of Young, Ariz.

The closure order goes into effect today, Friday, June 15.  The following is a description of the closure area: 

Beginning at the intersection of Forest Road (FR) 291 and FR 512, southerly along the eastern edge of FR 512 to the intersection with FR 200 (Chamberlin Trail), then northerly along the western edge of FR 200 to the intersection with FR 291, then easterly along the northern edge of FR 291 to FR 512.

Residence owners and lessees of land, and holders of Forest Service special use authorizations within the restricted area may use Forest Systems Road as ingress and regress from their property.

Forest Service officials continue to remind the public that wildfire potential conditions are extreme on the forest and that elevated fire restriction are in place.  No fireworks are allowed on the forest at any time.

For statewide road conditions and closures please go to http://www.az511.gov/ or dial 5-1-1 from any landline or mobile phone from anywhere in Arizona. From outside Arizona, dial 1-888-411-ROAD (7623) or 602-523-0244.

                 For more information regarding forest recreation sites and fire restrictions, please contact the Tonto National Forest at (602) 225-5200, or check online at www.fs.usda.gov/tonto        

                 The Pleasant Valley Ranger District administrative office will be open this weekend: 

928-462-4300.

Fire Facts

Incident Commander:  Dave Ramirez
Date reported: June 14, 2:33 pm	Number of personnel:
Location: 34 10 55.2  x  110 53 13.2 6 miles northeast of Young, Ariz.	Resources committed: 2 Hot Shot crews 2 Hot Shot crews en route 2 Type Crews 7 engines + 7 on order 1 Dozer
Cause: Under investigation	Aircraft: 2 Type 1 helicopters en route 1 type 2 helicopter en route 2 SEATs (Single Engine Air Tankers) DC-10 (VLAT = Very Large Air Tanker)
Size: 1,000 acres*
Percent contained: 0	Estimated containment date:
Terrain: Steep, rugged	Estimated Cost to date:
Fuel: Ponderosa pine, shrub and grass understory

Summary:  The fire burned actively through the night, but there are no updated acreage figures yet.*   The fire acreage will be GPSed today.  Last night, firefighters worked on the western flank building line.  The strategy is to box in the fire between the 512 Road and the area burned in the Bluff fire last year.  Terrain is extremely rugged and according to fire specialists, “it’s as dry as it’s ever been,” making firefighting efforts more arduous.  On the eastern side, firefighters worked with dozers to build a dozer line.  The southern boundary is the 512 Road where there was a slop-over of about 50 – 60 acres yesterday afternoon; it was successfully contained.  The 512 Road defines the southern boundary of the fire.

Resource availability:  Incident commander Dave Ramirez:  “Resources are readily available because we aren’t competing for resources with many other fires in the Southwest.”

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Tonto NF Poco Fire near Young, Ariz. June 15, 2012, 0900 hrs.

Today:  Active air presence today. Crews will be working on line on the eastern side of the fire as well as creating contingency fire line.  On the western side of the fire, they will continue holding and improving the line, and continue building line to tie into the 512 Road.

More ground and air resources en route.  The Northern Arizona Type 2 team, incident commander Matt Reidy, will take over management of the fire today.

Concern: 1 500 kV line (SRP); 1 500 kV line (APS)

Tomorrow:  A 5-degree temperature increase is expected which will add to fire complexity.

Smoke advisory:  Hwy 260, milepost 276, 7 ½ miles east of Kohl’s Ranch:  www.AZ511.gov

Road closure:  512 Rd., mile marker 213 on south side and Colcord Junction on north side (Gila County Sheriff’s Office).

Smoke information:  For smoke information, air quality forecasts, please visit the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality website at www.azdeq.gov/environ/air/smoke/fire.html.

Air quality:  Visibility is an excellent measure of air quality.  If visibility is ten miles or more, the air quality is good.  Visibility of six to nine miles indicates moderate air quality.  Three to five miles of visibility indicates conditions unhealthy for sensitive groups.  One and a half to two and a half miles, the air quality is unhealthy.  One to one and a quarter miles indicates the air quality is very unhealthy.  If visibility due to smoke is less than a mile, the air quality is hazardous.  Smoke-sensitive persons in affected areas may need to take action to mitigate the conditions.  Remaining indoors, using air conditioning or temporarily moving to an unaffected area may be necessary.

Extreme wildfire danger:  Forest Service officials continue to remind the public that wildfire potential conditions are extreme on the forest and that elevated fire restriction are in place.  No fireworks are allowed on the forest at any time.

For more information regarding forest recreation sites and fire restrictions, please contact the Tonto National Forest at (602) 225-5200, or check online at www.fs.usda.gov/tonto        

The Pleasant Valley Ranger District administrative office will be open this weekend: 

928-462-4300.

For more information regarding forest recreation sites and fire restrictions, please contact the Tonto National Forest at (602) 225-5200, or check online at www.fs.usda.gov/tonto       

For general information on fire activity and restrictions in Arizona call toll free 877-864-6985, or visit the. Southwest Coordination Center (SWCC) website:  http://gacc.nifc.gov/swcc/index.htm or the Phoenix Interagency Fire Center (PIFC) at http://gacc.nifc.gov/swcc/dc/azphc/ or the Arizona Public Lands website at http://www.publiclands.org/firenews/AZ.php