432 fire personnel face steep slopes to battle wildfire that prompted Oak Creek Canyon evacuation

The Pocket Fire ignited about 7 miles north of Sedona in the Red Rock–Secret Mountain Wilderness area on the afternoon of Friday, June 19, and has been mapped at about 257 acres, according to U.S. Forest Service spokesman Dick Fleishman.

Oak Creek Canyon residents who left their residences will also be allowed back in.

“The evacuation status for residents of Oak Creek Canyon (Zones 14 and 15) will change from “GO to SET” at 8:00 a.m. on Tuesday, June 23,” Coconino County posted to Facebook on June 22. “This modification applies to residents only, and proof of residency will be required for entry into the area. State Route 89A and Oak Creek Canyon remain closed for public use and for through traffic.”

First reported at 5 p.m. Friday, the fire was estimated at about 500 acres because smoke obscured its edges. An infrared flight flown Sunday night produced the more accurate 257-acre figure, after previously reducing it to 325 acres.

“The dozer line we put in on Friday night [off of Forest Service Road 231] is still holding on the north-northeast side of the fire and keeping it in check, but we still have issues with those steep slopes, and the potential for this fire to escape is really high,” Fleishman said on the morning of Monday, June 22.

“We’re trying to put people in on those sides, but we sent two Hotshot crews in last night to scout that, and it’s just not safe for them to get in there — it’s too steep, too rugged, just not a safe spot to put our personnel.”

The fire remains at 0% contained, but it had minimal growth on Sunday, June 21, and 432 personnel are on the effort according to the Coconino National Forest on the morning of June 22. Structure protection groups and Hotshot crews are conducting prep work in the Slide Rock, Seven Canyons and Enchantment areas to prepare for the possibility of the fire moving in that direction. Crews are also reopening containment lines and building on suppression completed during the 2014 Slide Fire in Oak Creek, according to Fleishman.

Aircraft treated 90% of the fire area with retardant, though “steep, difficult terrain prevented support on the ground,” according to a Saturday update from Southwest Area Incident Management Team.

Because of the steep terrain and thick fuels, the USFS is treating this as a “long-term event,” Fleishman said.

“Helibase operations are in full swing at the airport, with six helicopters on ground and more on the way to fight the #PocketFire,” the Sedona Airport posted to social media on Monday, June 22.

“We are still manning a night shift as well, so we are looking at this thing being a long term event, because its potential to escape is very high, because of that terrain, and those steep slopes,” Fleishman said.

Closures

All campgrounds, day-use sites and trails within Oak Creek Canyon were closed on June 20, along with numerous trailheads and access points.

In addition to all campgrounds and day-use sites located within Oak Creek Canyon, other closures include Casner, Loy Canyon, Bear Mountain and Fay Canyon, Thunder Mountain, Andante, Sugarloaf, Soldier Pass and Jim Thompson trailheads, the intersections of Dry Creek Road and Boynton Canyon Road — closing access to Boynton Canyon Road, the Aerie Trail crossing over Dry Creek Road, the OK Trail crossing over Dry Creek Road, the intersection of Dry Creek Road and Long Canyon Road closing access to Long Canyon Road, the Girdner Trail crossing over Dry Creek Road and the intersection of Dry Creek Road and Vultee Road — closing access to Vultee Road.

Lake Mary is also temporarily closed to allow for helicopter operations.

Affected recreation sites include the Call of the Canyon Picnic Site, Oak Creek Vista, Cave Springs Campground, Bootlegger Picnic Area, Pine Flat Campground, Grasshopper Point Swimming and Picnic Area, Halfway Picnic Site, Encinoso Picnic Site, Manzanita Campground, Midgley Bridge Observation Site and Slide Rock State Park.

“We still advise the Coconino County Sheriff’s to keep the evacuation in Slide Rock for the foreseeable future. We want to get people in there as soon as possible, but we want to do it when it’s safe for everyone to be in there,” Fleishman said.

Red Cross Shelter

Oak Creek Canyon was ordered to evacuate at 7:17 p.m. Friday, June 19. State Route 89A through the canyon was closed between Owenby Way in Sedona to Forest Highlands. There is no estimated reopening time as of press time Monday morning, June 22.

“Forest visitors in the Oak Creek Canyon area, as well as visitors to End/Edge of the World are asked to evacuate,” according to the evacuation order.

CCSO escorted residents and visitors back into the evacuated areas of Oak Creek Canyon on Saturday, June 20, allowing them to recover camping equipment and essential items from their homes. Escorts ended at 5 p.m. Saturday and resumed Sunday morning. CCSO officers are staging at the Owenby roundabout from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily to escort residents.

The American Red Cross opened an evacuation shelter at Sedona Red Rock High School.

“We started mobilizing our volunteers and our shelter supply trailer about 8 p.m., so we had the shelter up and fully operating by 10 p.m. last night,” American Red Cross Northern Arizona Executive Director Henning Bry Larsen said, on the morning of June 20. “Last night we had seven community members come in, make use of the shelter, get some food some snacks, and information. We do expect some more people to come back today.”

Larsen later said that three people stayed at the shelter the night of Saturday, June 20.

“The County [Office of Emergency Management] expected that about 400 people are probably affected,” by the Pocket Fire, Larsen said. “Generally, we don’t see much more than 10% of an affected population coming through a shelter, so we would expect at this point, unless something changes, less than 40 people” will stop by.

Weather Forecast

There’s a slight chance of thunderstorms arriving this week with a 10% chance on Wednesday, June 24, and a 20% chance on Thursday, June 25, however it’s projected to remain hot with wind speeds projected to increase picking up over the next several days with Saturday night wind possibly reaching as high as 37 miles-per-hour, the National Weather Service reported the morning of Monday, June 22.

“We are at the hottest, driest part of the year that has historically had some of our biggest fires, on the Coconino National Forest,” Fleishman said. “In 1996, the Hochderffer Fire started. That one started today, 30 years ago, about 16,000 acres. The Schultz Fire started June [20], 2010, and burned 7,000 acres in an hour.”

The cause of the Pocket Fire has not yet been determined.

“There are 432 selfless individuals currently working tirelessly to suppress this fire and ensure it does not spread south to Sedona, a remarkable display of their dedication to protecting our community,” interim Sedona Mayor Holli Ploog said. “I was given the honor of expressing my heartfelt gratitude to them for their unrelenting commitment and altruistic service to our community. I also spoke about the immense historical significance of Oak Creek Canyon to the native tribes that first inhabited the area and later to the pioneers who settled there, a truly inspiring legacy.”

For more information on the Ready, Set, Go! evacuation system, go to: ein.az.gov/ready-set-go.

For more information about the Pocket Fire you can call 928-260-0543 or email 2026.pocket@firenet.gov.

We are updating live on our Facebook page @sedonanews.