Terrain-based pilot fires have historically continued to burn in lean fuel, but have grown further in the aftermath of last year’s unusually wet monsoon and winter, the Forest Fire Management Service (DFFM) said in a news release. said it does. Continue through rugged terrain within the Mohon Mountains in northwestern Yavapai County. The fire began about 32 miles east of Wikiup on Saturday, July 1, 2023, and continues to burn in a sparsely populated area with a significant fire history. The fire occurred near the O RO Ranch but poses no threat to the property, its surrounding infrastructure or rangelands at this time. Burning in a fuel mixture of grass, bushes and pinyon juniper. The fire is estimated at 5,000 acres without containment, according to airstrikes.

Fire activity has increased significantly over the past 24 hours, continuing into mid-to-late afternoon due to seasonally higher temperatures and lower relative humidity. As fire activity intensifies, fire smoke can be very noticeable in communities within Mojave and Yavapai counties, especially in areas along State Route 93 and Interstate 40. The DFFM Air Attack platform is used to support aerial reconnaissance and intelligence gathering to address fire behavior, movement, growth and activity. Overall, the fire remains active on all sides.

The fire has moved northwest, pushing across Hop Creek toward Mohon Peak. To the west, the fire has moved across Walker Creek into the Brassy Basin and onto Walker Peak. The fires continue to climb uphill in the Denny Mountains to the east and will continue to do so until full monsoon activity is seen in the area. Monsoon conditions increase humidity, reduce fire activity, and generally allow fires to extinguish on their own. DFFM also monitors fire activity using a satellite-based mapping system and the agency’s UAS platform.

Sending riot police to fight fires is extremely dangerous and ultimately unsafe as the fires are occurring in remote and dangerous terrain. However, this is still the case with natural fire barriers, burn scars from previous fires, including the 2022 Adobe Fire and 2018 Happy Fire burn scars, and full fire extinguishing using natural monsoon activity to assist in the containment efforts. Fire. Operationally, the agency develops a management action plan in case fire activity escalates or additional needs are warranted. When these are triggered, more resources such as field spotters and aircraft will be dispatched to the incident.

There are no threatened structures, infrastructures, or values ​​at risk at this time.

This incident can be found on Inciweb and the information is updated daily or as needed for the duration of the incident.

https://inciweb.wildfire.gov/incident-information/aza5s-pilot-fire

For more information, please contact Tiffany Davila at 602-540-1036 or email tdavila@dffm.az.gov.