Fire in Huachucas thought to be human caused

SIERRA VISTA — The Coronado National Forest Service assigned fire resources, to include air tankers, to suppress a fire burning high in the Huachuca Mountains, near Garden Canyon, on Sunday afternoon.

Spokeswoman Heidi Schewel said the fire, called the Brown Fire, is thought to be human caused, because there was no lightning in the area, and is under investigation. In her last report, received at about 4:30 p.m., the fire was burning 5 acres in a remote location near the Miller Peak wilderness area.

An air attack unit is mapping and monitoring the fire and the forest service has also assigned tankers, though they will only go into action when the winds allow it.

The fire is in high, rough terrain and cannot be accessed by fire engines, Schewel said. It poses a moderate risk to grow.

Because it’s burning timber and not grass, the threat of spreading quickly is reduced but the lower than typical snowfall this year means conditions up in the mountains are drier than usual, she said.

Fort Huachuca spokeswoman Tanja Linton said the fire is about 3 miles from post and is not moving toward the fort.

The Fort Huachuca Fire Department evacuated Garden Canyon, which is a popular hiking spot, but was not yet actively involved in fighting the fire, Linton said. The Wilcox Fire Department is also assisting and it’s likely other local agencies will be involved as well.

Sierra Vista Fire Chief Randy Redmond and Fry Fire Chief Bill Miller both said they are on alert but have not been assigned to the fire yet.

Miller said they were getting frequent calls about the fire. In light of the Monument Fire, which consumed about 30,000 acres south of Sierra Vista in 2011, Miller said he doesn’t blame them.

“You see that fire coming over that mountain and people start getting a little skittish,” he said.

A fire briefing on Fort Huachuca where the Brown fire Incident Command is set up. The fire has grown to approximately 293 acres this evening and will officially be designated a Type 1 fire tomorrow at 4pm. That is the highest fire designation.

A Type 1 fire means a national fire fighting team will take over management of the fire from the local Forest Service fire fighters, which are a Type 3 response level team. Approximately 500 people will be arriving to fight the fire by Wednesday along with other assets, including air support.

A dozen or so Hot Shot crews are either on site or will be arriving within a day or so along with a lot of other fire fighters. Seven mid-size helicopters, one light helicopter, two air tankers, one VLT (very large tanker) and one sky crane helicopter are on site or will be shortly. Additionally, more helicopters are on ‘order’ as well as an additional sky crane helicopter.

The big picture ... the area where the fire is located has been considered ‘the worst case scenario’ by the local fire teams for many years because it is an area that has never burned, it is hard to get to and the terrain is steep and rugged. As an example, the closest safe area for helicopters to land and put fire crews on the ground is a 30 to 60 minute hike to the fire area. The concern is the fire coming over the ridges at the top of Ramsey and Brown and threatening areas where there are structures.

The good news ... as of right now, the fire is confined to a “bowl” in the mountains. The winds have been from the east/southeast today and are projected to remain that way tomorrow. This means the winds are blowing the fire back over the ridges - away from Ramsey and Brown Canyons. If you can see the smoke from the fire, you should be able to see that the column of smoke is moving towards the west - that’s good. The word from the Type 3 team is that we are in a much better spot now than we were with the Monument fire.

Pre-evacuation plans are being put in place and information regarding these plans will be available early tomorrow morning from several sources, including my emails. I don’t know the specifics of the evacuation areas yet ... but it seems obvious that people living in upper Ramsey Canyon and those living along Ramsey Canyon Road, both to the south and north (to Yaqui), should be giving some thought to structure fire prevention. This includes Indiada and the Antelope Run area. Again, we will have specifics tomorrow.

Lastly, the Forest Service has indicated that the fire is human-caused and is investigating.

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