The fire is now in Sterling Canyon, I'm watching it on tv right now......."if" this fire breaks over the top of Sterling Canyon it could continue it's way to I-17 and threaten Munds Park and Kachina Village.
http://www.azcentral.com
Brins Fire pushes beyond crews' line
Judi Villa and Monica Alonzo-Dunsmoor
The Arizona Republic
Jun. 22, 2006 12:00 AM
SEDONA - A stubborn wildfire that has been chewing through the picturesque terrain of northern Arizona's Oak Creek Canyon marched out of control northward Wednesday, breaching Sterling Canyon and jumping the trail fire crews had hoped would stop it.
The northern spread came as firefighters got their first toehold on the eastern flank of the Brins Fire, after setting their own fires to stanch the flames as they hit Arizona 89A. As of Wednesday night, none of the flames had jumped the highway as firefighters initially feared.
"We met it head to head, and we made some progress in this area," said Mark Koontz, a division supervisor working Wednesday along the highway. "But given the weather and what's still burning up there, we haven't quite turned the corner yet. It's just slow going up there." advertisement
On Wednesday, one of the most problematic areas was the northern flank of the fire, where winds blew embers into the trees, sending flames past the point where firefighters had hoped to stop the forward march. The fire was moving along the upper ridges of the canyon's western wall, with fingers that looked like tiny campfires extending lower into the canyon. By nightfall, it had traveled about 250 acres north of where it breached the trail.
Firefighters said the next logical place for them to build containment lines in the steep, rugged wilderness was along the Bootlegger Trail, nearly two miles north of where it breached. The lines have to be dug in the dirt by hand.
Hundreds of homes, picnic areas, campgrounds, hiking trails and the popular Slide Rock State Park remain, potentially, in the fire's path. Firefighters hope to keep the flames from dipping down into the canyon by digging containment lines where it's possible, clearing out brush and laying down hose lines.
"If we don't get out ahead of this, it's going to beat us to the punch every day," Incident Commander Paul Broyles said.
The fire grew Wednesday to 2,456 acres. It is 7 percent contained.
Since the Brins Fire started Sunday, it has been slowly creeping up and down mountains and ridges, staying mostly on the ground, instead of climbing into the trees and jumping through treetops.
But the rugged terrain has made it difficult for firefighters to attack the blaze from the ground. On the eastern side, firefighters had only "one place to stop it," Arizona 89A, said Tony DeMasters, another division supervisor.
"We have to let the fire come to us," DeMasters said.
More than 600 firefighters are battling the blaze, with nine helicopters dropping water from above.
On Wednesday, two 20-member hotshot crews were dropped off by helicopter into strategic points within the fire. But after several hours of trying to put in containment lines, those crews were pulled out because the fire had flared.
Today, fire crews will focus efforts at the trail the fire breached and along Bootlegger Trail to prevent further spreading.
"We hit it hard all day long, and we're going to try again for Sterling Canyon," said Kole Berriochoa, one of the officials managing the fire.
The farther north the fire travels, the more likely it is to dip into the canyon, putting businesses and homes at risk and possibly jumping Arizona 89A. Two air tankers will drop fire retardant, and crews will hike into the canyon and attack the fire from different angles.
"They're working in dirt, smoke, difficult terrain," said Steve Markason, who manages the helicopter base at the Sedona Airport. "It's dirty, hot and, physically, it's a lot of work."
