Community News

News Release: Rafael Fire Morning Update –July 1, 2021

July 1, 2021

Acres: 78,750 

Percent Containment: 89% 

Date/Time Detected:Friday, 06/18/2021 at 1927 MST Structures Damaged/Destroyed:  1
Number of Personnel: 476 

Cause: Lightning 

Origin/Location: 4 miles north of Perkinsville 

    

    Yesterday, Scattered rain fell across the north half of the fire. Crews continued with mop up, patrol, and suppression repair work on all flanks of the fire with suppression repair work being completed below the Mogollon Rim in and around Sedona and Loy Canyon.   Firefighters from the Rafael Fire assisted the Prescott National Forest with initial attack on two new lightning fire starts.  

   Today, crews will continue to patrol and mop up around the fire to secure the perimeter. Chipping of woody debris will continue along control lines in the northeast portion of the fire along FR 527 and along the road systems from White Horse Lake south to JD Dam. An excavator will be engaged in suppression repair on dozer lines in the area of White Horse Lake. Smoke from burning interior fuels will continue to be visible for a few more days. Thunderstorms and possible rain are predicted again this afternoon. The process of demobilizing Crews and equipment will continue.   

    A Type 3 Incident Command Team led by Incident Commander Troy Mueller, will be shadowing members of Southwest Area Type 1 Team 2 today and will assume management of the Fire tomorrow at 6 a.m. The Burned Area Emergency Response team is in place and will be assessing burn severity over the eastern portion of the fire. 

All communities affected by the fire are in “READY evacuation status.  However, all areas within the Coconino, Kaibab, and Prescott National Forests remain closed to entry, regardless of evacuation status.      

 

Information about evacuation status can be found on the Coconino County Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/CoconinoCounty and at the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Department Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/YavapaiCountySheriff/  Maps of evacuation status in Coconino County can be found at: Coconino County Situational Awareness Viewer (arcgis.com) 

It’s fire season in Northern Arizona. Residents in Northern Arizona should be Ready.  https://ein.az.gov/ready-set-go 

 

Full forest closures are in effect on the Kaibab National Forest, Coconino National Forest, and Prescott National Forest   Coconino National Forest - Alerts &Notices (usda.gov)    Kaibab NationalForest - Alerts& Notices (usda.gov).  

and Prescott National Forest - Alerts & Notices (usda.gov) 

All Arizona State Trust lands are closed. Fire Restrictions and Closures Across Arizona | Department of Forestry and Fire Management (az.gov) 

 

Smoke forecasts are available at Wildfire Smoke Forecast | ADEQ ArizonaDepartment of Environmental Quality(azdeq.gov) and https://fires.airfire.org/outlooks/NorthCentralArizona.