Polles Fire

POLLES FIRE UPDATE - July 9, 2020 

 Acres: 572 acres Percent Containment: 61%

 Start Date: Friday, July 3, 2020 Cause: Lightning

 Origin Location: 11 miles W of Payson, AZ Fuels: Pinion juniper, high desert grass

 Resources: approx. 384: including 9 crews, 10 engines, 7 helicopters

 Polles Fire 61% Contained
 
Payson, Ariz. – Yesterday ground resources continued to work the fire’s edge and completed contingency work around local communities. Due to the fire’s remote location in the wilderness and spotty vegetation in the area, crews haven’t been able to dig fireline and burn out from containment features like roads or trails.  Instead, they have been checking thousands of individual hotspots to ensure fuels along the fire’s perimeter are cold. “We are now reporting the fire as 61% contained, meaning we feel confident the fire will no longer grow in these areas.” said Incident Commander John Pierson. 
 
Little to no perimeter growth is predicted. The Incident Management Team will begin right-sizing the organization and demobilizing crews as appropriate. However, there will continue to be adequate air and ground resources to respond and suppress any fire activity and to perform initial attack if needed.
 
Today, and throughout the weekend, the weather forecast is calling for excessive heat warnings with a small chance of thunderstorms.
 
There are no current threats from the Polles Fire to the communities of Pine-Strawberry or Payson. We do encourage that residents become familiar with Arizona’s Ready-Set-Go program and sign up for their county emergency notification systems and remain alert, ready and make essential preparations. Visit https://ein.az.gov/ready-set-go for more information.
 
The Tonto National Forest has a Closure in effect across the forest to prevent new human caused fires.  Details are available at https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/tonto/alerts-notices.
 
The Tonto Natural Bridge State Park has closed due to the Polles Fire. For more information visit:  https://azstateparks.com/tonto
 
Wildfires are a No Drone Zone. If you fly, we can’t. Every time a drone is spotted near the fire all aircraft are grounded until we can be sure the drone is clear of this area. Drove incursions during a wildfire can result in significant fines and jail time. For more info, visit: http://knowbeforeyoufly.org.Polles Fire Public Information
  Public Line: (928) 351-7723‬

 Media Line: (928) 351-7596

 Email: 2020.polles@firenet.gov

 Inciweb:  inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/6825/

 Tonto NF Facebook: FB.me/TontoNationalForest/

 Tonto NF Twitter:  twitter.com/TontoForest 

 Tonto NF Website:  www.fs.usda.gov/tonto