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National Guard requested for fire emergency
The Monument Fire took a turn for the worse, crossing Highway 92 at two points and spreading east, leaving many evacuees living south of Sierra Vista to wonder if they have homes to return to.
by Beatrice Richardson, Sierra Vista Herald
June 20, 2011
 Pete Tunstall leans on his rake while at his home near
Sierra Vista, Ariz., Sunday. Tunstall had lived in this house since 1969.
(Sierra Vista, AZ) -- The Monument Fire took a turn for the worse on Sunday afternoon, crossing Highway 92 at two points and spreading east, leaving many evacuees living south of Sierra Vista to wonder if they have homes to return to.
Even though little information regarding the status of structures was available, to the credit of the hundreds of people gathered in the Buena Performing Arts Center, Sunday’s public fire information meeting was nothing if not civil. The crowd was especially appreciative when Cochise County Board of Supervisors Chair Pat Call announced he had requested the use of the National Guard to provide security during this emergency.
“We’re doing that as we speak,” Call said, to roaring applause and exclamations of “Go guard!”
The bad news was that Call confirmed the loss of Ricardo’s and Nick’s Place, while the Lone Star and U.S. Post Office in Hereford were still standing early Sunday evening.
“You know last night we talked about how today was going to be a bad day and indeed we have had our hands full right from about the time the sun came up,” said Greg Poncin commander of the Northern Rockies Incident Command Team. “I know that you know how windy this has been today and how difficult that’s been for the firefighters, and it’s kind of manifested itself in what we’ve seen here play out this afternoon. I can tell you there was some fantastic fire fighting going on.”
The Monument Fire crossed Highway 92 near Hereford Road and also by White Lily Lane, burning an area north of Hereford Road and south of Ramsey Road, as far east as White Oak lane, Poncin said. Anecdotal reports that it had crossed Ramsey Road were not confirmed by their sources.
With the day crew working well into the night and the night crew activated early, they probably had more than 700 firefighters engaged in protecting structures and controlling the fire, Poncin said. Unfortunately they expected high winds to continue until 9 or 10 p.m. but the weather is anticipated to be substantially better in the next two days with much lighter winds shifting in a favorable direction.
On Sunday gusts between 45 to 50 miles per hour kept helicopters from aiding in the fire suppression efforts, Poncin said. He was optimistic that the blaze east of Highway 92 would be completely contained by Monday morning.
While a spokesman for the incident management team later confirmed that structures on both sides of the highway were lost, little information was available Sunday.
“As you all know, the battle is still going on down there and we don’t have a lot of definitive information for people,” said Rod Rothrock, chief deputy of the Cochise County Sheriff’s Department. “Structures have been lost, I don’t have any idea how many. I’m hoping that it’s minimal of course and we will be working diligently to try and put that information together.
“On the good sign of things… it didn’t jump the highway the way it would have liked to,” he said. “If it could have come across there the way it wanted to, I don’t think Hereford would be there anymore. If there’s a little bit of a silver lining somewhere, we may have lost some homes out there, we don’t know yet, but at least we haven’t lost them all.”
When the fire blew down the mountain Sunday afternoon, they lost power to the Incident Command Post, likely because the smoke inundated the lines with carbon, causing an automatic shut down, said Jack Blair, chief members services officer of Sulphur Springs Valley Electric Co-op. A large line feeding into the Ramsey substation also went off and soon thereafter all the lines feeding that went down as well.
While this was also likely due to carbon from the smoke, they will not know for sure until they can move in to perform an assessment of the situation, Blair said.
Coronado National Forest Supervisor Jim Upchurch warned that as the fire keeps creeping north it looks like this will take a prolonged amount of time to manage. He also noted that there are no signs of monsoon patterns forming yet and the entire forest is still at risk during a volatile fire season.
The Red Cross will begin providing direct family assistance today and people can register at either of the two emergency shelters located at Apache Middle School and Buena High School, said Craig Brelsford of the Red Cross Southern Arizona Chapter. “The first priority is going to be folks that lost their homes. Period.”
The Salvation Army will begin providing regular meals at both shelters on Tuesday, Brelsford said.
As they help back-fill the city’s fire fighting personnel, Fort Huachuca has requested aid from other military institutions in the western region, including Fort Bliss, Garrison Commander Col. Timothy Faulkner said. They also requested some additional Military Police.
The City of Sierra Vista has set up a joint communication center at City Hall to coordinate the information coming from various agencies, City Manager Chuck Potucek said. A physical public information center will open at Sierra Vista Public Library 10 a.m. today and typical library services will again be open to the public after being closed over the weekend.
The shelter at Apache was expected to be full Sunday night, while the high school will also remain open as a shelter, Potucek said. They will open additional shelters as needed, while a tremendous amount of volunteers and donations continue to pour in.
“I just can’t tell you how proud I am to live in this community,” Potucek said.
For up to date information regarding the fire, emergency shelters, road closures, and evacuations go to http://www.sierravistaaz.gov or call the joint information call center at 1-800-288-3861.
6:30 p.m. Horses on Fort evacuated
A number of horses on the post have been evacuated to other locations, post public affairs officer Angela Moncur said at 5:45 p.m. today.
The 14 mounts of the fort’s B Troop, 4th U.S. Cavalry (Memorial) have been taken to one of the unit’s member’s property, she said.
The 38 government mounts which are used for recreational activities have been taken to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson until the emergency is ended, Moncur said.
Private mounts boarded on the post’s Buffalo Corral will have to be moved by the owners, although the post will provide as much assistance as can be done, she said.
There have been no evacuations of individuals living on the installation, she added.
5:45 Air attack underway
Firefighters have started backburn operations near Kino Road and an aerial attack is underway to control the Monument Fire on the east side of Highway 92, immediately south of Sierra Vista.
5:30 p.m. Incident command update reports structure fires
Update from Northern Rockies Level 1 Incident Management Team — The fire has crossed Highway 92 as of about 4:20 p.m. and firefighters are trying to stop it at White Lilly Road. It is believed no houses have been lost at this time, but structures such as Ricado’s and Nick’s Place have fire damage. The Rapid Response Team has been deployed to fight the movement.
5:15 p.m. Evacuation orders updated
Mandatory evacuation is ordered at Horse Thief Draw Road, east of Homested Road, north to Highway 90 and east to the river.
Precautionary on the east side of the river, to the High Knoll area.
Bill Paxton fire information officer for the incident management.
Sierra Vista police are notifying residents, knocking on doors.
4:30 p.m. Fire fight at Highway 92 and Yaqui
All available fire crews have been dispatched to Highway 92 at Yaqui, immediately south of Sierra Vista, in a desperate effort to prevent the Monument Fire from crossing the highway.
Firefighters are also being dispatched to the Ramsey Canyon area at 92, again in an effort to prevent the fire from crossing the highway.
3:45 p.m. Determination made not to fly
An air attack assessment mission over the growing Monument Fire will not lead to air tanker operations to drop retardant on the blaze which has spread, spilling over into Carr Canyon, a spokesman said.
Conditions are not safe enough, at this time, to launch aircraft, based on the report of the crew after the air attack plane returned before 3 p.m., the spokesman said.
3:15 City using reverse 911 to notify residents of new evac
Pre-evacuation calls were made this morning to areas that are now considered mandatory evacuation, according to the Monument Fire Incident Command Center at 2:51 p.m.. New calls are being made through the City’s reverse 911 system with this information. "Do not return to your home until further notice.”
A new pre evacuation area has been established. Those in the affected area will receive a similar call later this afternoon as soon as the system completes the mandatory evacuation area calls.
Weather conditions and the change in the fire has necessitated these safety precautions.
3:10 p.m. Fort Huachuca orders evacs
According to the most recent updates from Fort Huachuca all personnel have been cleared from Sites Papa and Uniform, the Aerostat site, Sportsman’s Center and Range Control.
The Mountain View Golf Course has been evacuated and is closed until further notice.
Due to issues with air quality Fort Huachuca residents should close windows and doors, and turn on air conditioning. If in a smoky area, a barrier (mask, handkerchief, etc.) should be utilized.
3 p.m. Mandatory evacuations established
According to the most recent information released by the Cochise County Sheriff’s Department Sunday afternoon the following MANDATORY evacuations issued Saturday will remain in effect until further notice:
West of Highway 92: Stump Canyon North to Ramsey Canyon
East of Highway 92: Ramsey Road east to Hargis Ranch Road/Hargis Ranch Road south to Hereford Road/ Hereford Road west to Highway 92
East of Highway 92: Three Canyons east to Oakridge Drive
2:30 p.m. Sheriff’s department orders new evacuations
As the 1:45 p.m. today the Cochise County Sheriff’s Department released an alert announcing the following closures and evacuation areas, including a warning to stay off Highway 92 in Sierra Vista.
Ramsey Road and Hereford Road are closed.
There is a pre-evacuation area from Lower Ranch Road to Highway 90.
The following evacuation is effective west of Highway 92: East Ramsey Canyon Road North to Yaqui.
The following evacuations are effective east of Highway 92: North to Camino Principal; East to Campobello South to Ramsey; Ramsey Road North to Lower Ranch Road East To the San Pedro River.
2 p.m. Soldiers ordered out of Garden Canyon
Soldiers clearing brush in Garden Canyon at site Papa and site Uniform were ordered to pull back at 1:30 p.m. as the Monument Fire escalates, according to Tanja Linton, public affairs officer for Fort Huachuca. The situation is a little daunting as high winds prevent air support from aiding fire suppression efforts today.
“We’re just hoping and praying,” she said.
1:45 p.m. Firefighters moved to new location
The Monument Fire is growing in intensity, coming down Miller Canyon and may have spilled over into Carr Canyon, a spokeswoman for the Northern Rockies Incident Management Team said at 1:35 p.m. today.
Terina Mullen said ground crews have been removed from the line in Miller Canyon to another holding point and the fire has not crossed Highway 92.
The winds are blowing between 45 and 55 mph.
Air support is being sought but the winds may prohibit use of air tankers or helicopters, she said.
The decision to use them if an air attack plane can fly over the area to assess if it is safe to use air assets, Mullen said.
1:15 p.m. Evacuations announced
Cochise County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Commander Buckner has provided evacuation and pre-evacuation update as follows:
• Reissued a reverse 911 pre-evacuation order going out to Ramsey Canyon north to Yaqui and East of Campobello.
• A new pre-evacuation order is being issued for Ramsey Canyon north to lower Ranch, west at Aquaduct, and east to the San Pedro River.
• Evacuation orders remain in effect for the area south of Ramsey Road.
1 p.m. Fort calms fears of another fire
The reported smoke being observed in the area of Friday’s post fire, which previously was called the Antelope Fire and now is the Garden Fire, is not smoke.
Post spokeswoman Tanja Linton said, “It is burnt ash being blown by the high winds, along with dust. Fort Huachuca crews are in this area monitoring and performing mop up operations.”
12:30 p.m. Natural gas shutoffs announced
Public notice has just been issued that natural gas service has been shut off to customers within an area close to the Monument Fire.
Upon the advice of Monument Fire Command, Southwest Gas has shut off natural gas service to an additional 200 customers in the area bordered by Ramsey Road on the north, East Calle de la Palmera on the south, South Mesquite Tree Lane on the west, and Calle Lima on the east. Additionally, gas has been shut off to an undeveloped and unoccupied subdivision immediately to the west of that area, bordered byRamsey Road on the north, East Calle de la Palmera on the south, Highway 92 on the west, and South Wild Rose Road on the east.
57 customers were shut off Thursday, June 16, in the area immediately south of this, and service to these customers remains off. Service has been RESTORED to 2100 customers who were temporarily shut off on Friday in response to the Antelope fire on Fort Huachuca.
This action is part of a plan Southwest Gas developed to isolate natural gas facilities in stages, in order to protect public safety as the fire progresses.
A map of the affected area may be viewed on the Southwest Gas web site, http://www.swgas.com. Once the fire has been contained and it is safe to restore service, details will be available on the map as well.
11:30 a.m. Planes, helicopters grounded
High winds are grounding both fixed wing and helicopters flying missions on the Monument Fire today.
Gilbert Gill, the manager of the U.S. Forest Service Air Tanker Base on Fort Huachuca briefed fixed wing aircrews telling them reports indicated “extremely strong winds and low rh (relative humidity).”
The winds were expected to be come stronger at 10 a.m. — with it being noticed at the air tanker base around 9:45 a.m. when a Herald/Review reporter/photographer team was there.
Gill said in general winds would be 15 to 20 mph gusting to 50 mph.
Fred Fuchs, a retired U.S. Forest Service lead plane pilot and now a pilot who flies air attack aircraft, which includes an observer to make fight decisions, said mountain flying is difficult and dangerous and winds in and near canyons can exceed the forecast and such winds are a danger to the air crews because they fly low and can be caught in a situation where they have little or no time to react.
While the air tankers are currently prohibited from flying the Monument Fire, a couple have been dispatched to the Wallow Fire, which is 131 nautical miles to the north of the fort.
See Monday’s Herald/Review for more on the interview with Fuchs and others involved in fire flight operations.
10:09 a.m. Wildlife may move toward the fort
According to a Fort Huachuca press release, residents on the post can expect to see a large increase in wildlife due to the Monument Fire.
Residents are requested to report sightings of mountain lions, bears, and other predators to DES at 533-3000.
Use extreme caution when driving due to the increase in wildlife. Residents are also
requested to not feed or water wildlife, so that the animal will move away from the cantonment area.
10 a.m. Red Flag Warning remains in effect
A Red Flag Warning remains in effect on the Monument Fire as crews expect winds in excess of 35 miles per hour with single digit humidity by this afternoon. The focus remains in the Miller Canyon area as the fire moves down towards the mouth of the canyon and Highway 92. Crews will continue to strengthen fire containment lines from Miller Canyon to the Fort Huachuca boundary to form a break between homes and the encroaching fire. The fire size is currently 20,956 acres and has destroyed 44 homes and 18 other structures since it started June 12.
There are 1,061 people assigned to the fire, including 22 crews, 100 engines, 9 helicopters.
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