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Firefighters Continue Efforts to Contain Fires 

Cottonwood Ridge, Snake Ridge, Spoon and New Fire Starts – August 5, 2023, Daily Update 

Cottonwood Ridge Fire Quick Facts 

Acres: 345 

Cause: Lightning 

Containment: 90% 

Start Date: July 23, 2023 

Location: 4 miles south of Show Low, AZ 

Fuels: Timber, grass, brush 

Snake Ridge Fire Quick Facts 

Acres: 42 acres 

Cause: Lightning 

Containment: 100% 

Start Date: July 28, 2023 

Location: 11 miles southwest of Show Low, AZ. 

Fuels:  Grass, Brush 

Total personnel for all incidents: 366 

Overview: Continued hot, dry temperatures, and winds with gusts up to 25 mph occurred Friday. Crews continued to perform mop up duties along the perimeters of the fires looking for hidden heat sources that may start appearing due to the vegetation drying out after the last rainstorm, and we able to increase containment on the Spoon Fire to 58%. 

There were two new fires reported Friday on the Fort Apache Reservation, and firefighters and air resources were sent to help put out these new starts. 

Crews will continue to scout for and ensure there are no remaining heat sources along fire containment lines. With the help of the firefighters, excavators will begin rehabilitating dozer lines and start the process of returning the land back to its natural state. The repair process will consist of the excavators pulling tress onto the dozer line and having firefighters cut them up, and then start spreading them across the dozer line, as well as spreading grass seed to help reduce run-off should the area receive rain.  This will occur on both the Cottonwood Ridge and Spoon fires. Firefighters will continue to be ready to respond to any new starts. 

Cottonwood Ridge Fire Update: With the addition of an excavator, crews will continue to patrol firelines for any remaining heat sources and continue suppression repair work, on the dozer lines to return the area to a more natural state. Meticulous work by firefighters Friday, increased containment on the Cottonwood Ridge Fire to 90%. 

Snake Ridge Fire Update: Crews patrolled the perimeter of the Snake Ridge Fire and did not find any heat sources close to the fireline, so were able to declare the fire 100% contained. 

Weather: Hot weather in the low 90s, dry fuels and wind gusts up to 25 miles per hour are a concern into the weekend. Firefighters will remain prepared to respond to any new fire starts. 

Evacuations: None. For awareness regarding evacuations, familiarization with the Ready, Set, Go evacuation model is encouraged. Community members may also sign up for the Navajo County Alert System at https://tinyurl.com/y4vwrasw. 

Smoke: Smoke may start to appear if winds stir up any heat sources inside the fire perimeter. For information on smoke and air quality, visit https://www.airnow.gov. 

Closures: Highway 60 remains open. The southwest portion of Fort Apache is closed, including all Salt River sites within the closure area. 

Fire Restrictions: There are several fire restrictions in place depending on location. 

• Fort Apache Agency: Stage 2 Fire Restrictions - No campfire, fireworks, outdoor smoking, debris burning or discharging of firearms. Power saws cannot be used between 10 am and 8 pm. All motorized travel is restricted to developed roads. 

• Show Low, Navajo County and Apache Sitgreaves National Forests: Stage 1 Fire Restrictions - No campfires (except in developed recreation sites), no smoking outdoors, no welding, no fireworks.