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  • wildfire Wildfire
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Tunnel Fire

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Unit Information

Coconino National Forest 
1824 S. Thompson St. 
Flagstaff, 
Arizona 
86001 
Coconino National Forest 
1824 S. Thompson St. 
Flagstaff, 
Arizona 
86001 

Incident Contacts

  • Randi Shaffer
    Email:
    randi.shaffer@usda.gov
    Phone:
    928-640-2774
    Hours:
    Daily 8am-5pm
  • County Tunnel Fire Call Center
    Phone:
    928-679-8525
    Hours:
    Daily 8am-5pm
  • Media Contact
    Email:
    randi.shaffer@usda.gov
    Phone:
    928-224-8306
    Hours:
    Daily 8am-5pm

Helicopters, crews make progress with lines around fire

Tunnel Fire
Publication Type: News 04/22/2022

 FLAGSTAFF, Ariz., April 21, 2022 — Helicopters aided in fire suppression efforts today on the 20,198-acre Tunnel Fire, while crews continued making progress dowsing hotspots along the fire’s western flank near Forest Road 420 (Schultz Pass Road) and around Timberline Estates and Wupatki Trail subdivisions.

In addition, hand crews continued establishing handline on the southern edge of the fire east of the Pinnacle Peak 345KV powerline and on the north edge of the fire below and east of O’Leary Peak. They will continue looking for opportunities to extend these fire lines to the east.

“Even though we haven’t declared a percentage of containment on this fire yet, there has been a lot of work, progress, and investment on line construction around many parts of the Tunnel Fire,” said Deputy Incident Commander Shelby Erickson. “However, we won’t be declaring areas with line around them as ‘contained’ until we’re confident the line will hold during the forecasted high and shifting winds through the next few days.”

Windy conditions are expected to continue into Friday with a slight chance of moisture and higher humidity to accompany Friday’s winds. Saturday and Sunday, winds are forecasted to be up to 20 mph, but coming out of the northwest and northeast, that could potentially push embers out of the fire to the south and west.

The Coconino National Forest has instituted a Forest Closure Order for the area affected by the Tunnel Fire.   Current firefighting resources on scene include 371 firefighters, nine 20-person hand crews, five dozers, 30 engines, one air attack plane, two Type 1 helicopters, and one Type 3 helicopter. A Type 1 Incident Management Team began arriving today and will be supporting current fire suppression efforts into the future.

U.S. Highway 89 is still closed from near milepost 425 (Campbell Road intersection) to 445, but officials are assessing conditions daily and may reopen it before the weekend. These decisions will be based on weather conditions that drive fire activity and whether it is safe for motorists to travel this stretch of highway.

Information about evacuations, structures that have been burned, and when people might be able to return is handled by Coconino County, which is posting updates online via their Coconino County Tunnel Fire page. The County has also established a Coconino County Tunnel Fire Call Center at 928-679-8525 that the public can call with questions. 

All information regarding current firefighting efforts and the direction and activity of the fire is regularly updated on the Tunnel Fire Inciweb page at https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/8068/

The media staging area has be relocated to the Old Caves trailhead parking lot on Silver Saddle Road, and media representatives can reach information officers by calling the MEDIA Line at 928-224-8306.

TUNNEL FIRE AT A GLANCE

Date reported: April 17, 2022
Cause: Under investigation.
Origin: 14 miles northeast of Flagstaff.
Current size: 20,198 acres
Current closures: U.S. Highway 89 is closed from milepolst 425 to 4435. Conditions are being assessed daily to determine when it is safe for the highway to open for travel. Coconino National Forest has instituted a Forest Closure Order for the area affected by the Tunnel Fire. 
Evacuation information: Please visit the Coconino County Emergency Management page for the Tunnel Fire at https://www.coconino.az.gov/2894/Tunnel-Fire. The Coconino County Tennel Fire Call Center can be reached as 928-679-8525.
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