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Firefighters Efforts Make Significant Headway in Fire Containment
Cottonwood Ridge, Snake Ridge, Spoon and New Fire Starts – August 4, 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: 407

On Thursday, heat sources along fire containment lines continued to decrease, meaning the heat is naturally diminishing adjacent to the fire containment lines. This allows firefighters to work steadily to increase containment on all fires.

New fire starts addressed Wednesday showed minimal heat and no smoke on Thursday. Although the temperature was warm, dry, and breezy, no additional new starts were detected.

Today, crews will continue to scout out and ensure there are no remaining heat sources along containment lines, begin repair work, reestablish jeep trails and roads and redirect water off roads and trails. While there has been a significant leap towards containment of all large fires, firefighters will continue to be ready to respond to any new starts.

Cottonwood Ridge Fire Update: Crews will continue to patrol firelines for any remaining heat sources and begin suppression repair work along dozer lines to restore the containment line to a more natural state. Firefighters worked hard to increase containment by 25%, reaching 90% containment on the Cottonwood Ridge Fire Thursday.

Snake Ridge Fire Update: Crews patrolled the perimeter of the Snake Ridge Fire and didn’t 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 high wind gusts of 25 miles per hour are a concern into the weekend, but 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 is very minimal, but may still be visible as pockets of heat continue to subside. 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.

More Information:
Inciweb:

• Cottonwood Ridge: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident-information/azfta-cottonwood-ridge-fire
• Spoon: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident-information/azfta-spoon-fire

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BIAFAAFireMgt/