Evacuees at 1,900 and growing due to Wallow Fire in Eastern Arizona

Wallow Fire is at 233,552 acres, the third largest fire in state's recorded history

Fire officials believe an unattended campfire is the cause of the Wallow Fire, now estimated at 233,552 acres, the third largest wildfire in recorded history in Arizona. The Wallow Fire got its name from the area where it began, the Bear Wallow Wilderness located in the Apache Sitgreaves National Forest in Eastern Arizona.

A number of communities have been evacuated since the fire was first reported at about 1:30 p.m. Sunday, May 29 over Memorial Day weekend.

As of 3 p.m. Sunday, June 5, fire officials said an estimated 1,900 people in the following communities had been evacuated: Alpine, Nutrioso, Hannagan Meadow Lodge, Sprucedale Guest Ranch, Brentwood Church Camp, Hannagan campground, KP campground, West Fork Black River campground, East Fork Black River campground, Escudilla Mountain Estates, Bonita, Dog Patch and the H-V Ranch.

In addition, the community of Greer was evacuated on Monday, June 6, and residents in Springerville and Eager remain on standby for their evacuation orders. On its northern edge, the blaze was reported to be about 15 miles from the two communities. A community meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday, June 7, at  Round Valley High School Auditorium.
Those who are unable to attend the meeting can view it on a live stream at one of two sites:
http://www.wallow.us/ or http://www.wesmcb.com/.

Four summer rental cabins have been lost in the blaze and one trailer was reported destroyed in Alpine,  but as of Tuesday, June 7, no injuries had been reported.


As of Tuesday, June 7, there were 2,140 fire peronnel on the ground, 12 bulldozers, 20 helicopters, 138 engines, and 31 water tenders. The main source of water for fighting the blaze is at Acre Lake and the estimated cost of fighting the fire so far is at $5.3 million.

The area of the Wallow Fire was reported to be lacking moisture and had gotten lower than average snowpack levels in the watershed, one-third the amount of the longterm average. It is not, however, as dry as the Rodeo-Chediski Fire, the state's largest fire that took place in 2002 and burned 468,000 acres. The second-largest fire is the Cave Creek Fire in 2005 that burned 248,000 acres.
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