| Pine Springs fire among six to burn through weekend on Navajo Nation | |||
| Posted: June 13, 2006 | |||
| by: Staff Reports / Indian Country Today | |||
| PINE SPRINGS, Ariz. - As many as
six forest fires started on the Navajo Nation over the weekend of June 10 -
11. The uncontained Navajo Mountain fire spread to 1,000 acres, and the Pine Springs Fire 30 miles southwest of the Navajo capital scorching just under 50 acres of pinon and juniper forest and spreading again the afternoon of June 12 before being contained. Fires were also burning at Black Mesa, Chinle, Dilcon and Sanostee. Thirty-three people were evacuated from their homes at Pine Springs. The Pine Springs School opened its doors to feed them and fire crews. About a half-dozen people were housed there overnight, according to Principal Louann Jones. The school planned to feed breakfast to evacuees and firefighters. There was no containment of the Pine Springs fire as of 10 p.m. June 11 but it had been knocked down to spot fires, said Pat Willetto, BIA incident commander. ''It's looking good,'' he said. ''It looked bad at 3 o'clock. It looked like an oil plant fire, with real black smoke. There was smoke was on the ground. ''The fire behavior was pretty bad but calmed down after 6 p.m. We saved the hogan. The corral there took a bite. But Navajo Nation put some foam on that and pretty much secured that.'' Willetto said the evacuation was necessary because the fire was moving to the west. Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley Jr. traveled to the fire line just before sundown to visit with evacuees and to ensure that firefighters had the resources they needed to fight the Pine Springs fire. ''I wanted to make sure that the firefighters are taken care of, that they're looked after, that they're fed, that they're rested, that they have the resources they need to fight the fire,'' Shirley said. ''Same thing with the evacuees. I wanted to make sure that they're looked after, make sure that they're fed and that they're concerns are addressed. I found out that all of that is happening.'' Responding to this fire were the BIA crews from Fort Defiance and Zuni, the Ganado Fire Department, McKinley County, the Gallup Fire Department and the Apache County Sheriff's Office, Willetto said. Three Puerco Valley Fire engines and one Type 3 4000-gallon water tenderer were on the scene. ''It seems like this is beginning to be a family event,'' Willetto said. ''They're coming across state lines to help with the responses.'' ''It makes the heart glad, on behalf of the nation and on behalf of the communities affected, that all of the resources came together to help the Pine Springs community,'' Shirley said. ''When the forest fire flared up, I understand they responded in record time.'' BIA Forestry Dispatcher Bill Watchman said the Pine Springs fire, one mile north of Pine Springs School, was active throughout the evening. BIA Forestry Dispatch and the Navajo Nation Department of Emergency Management reported June 11 that a fire at Navajo Mountain in the northwest corner of the Nation along the Utah border burned between 100 - 200 or more acres. The fire was on a thumb of Navajo Mountain, on the western side of Navajo Begay Mountain. It is in rough, canyon terrain. One BIA hot shot crew and two type two crews were on the scene June 12 but had not been to the top of the mountain. Winds at 10 miles per hour off Lake Powell pushed the fire toward the towers. The place is an herb-gathering area. No fire retardant will be allowed and only buckets of water will be dropped by helicopter. The forest fire at Black Mesa, north of the community of Blue Gap, has consumed 16.1 acres. Earlier it appeared to firefighters to be a 30-acre fire because of the smoke. Access to the fire was difficult. Firefighters planned to continue to maintain the fire throughout the night. BIA Forestry Dispatch reported the lightning-caused Turkey Springs fire, which was reported around 9:21 a.m. June 11, to be the latest and slowly creeping along west of White Clay, about 13 miles north of the Fort Defiance community. Propelled by westerly winds, it has burned 8.3 acres. The fire was smoldering the afternoon of June 11. The Turkey Springs fire is rated as OK for fire behavior. A fire on Beautiful Mountain has been contained. All resources at this fire have left the scene. As of June 12, other fires were reported on: * Black Soil Road, between Kinlichii and Sawmill picnic grounds, about six miles south of Sawmill. The lookout reported increasing smoke. One BIA engine is en route. A fire team is ready to respond. * At 4:55 p.m., a fire was reported south of Navajo Nation Police Academy at Toyei. The Ganado Fire Department responded and it was contained at 5:52 p.m. * Pine Springs fire - Resources were returning to base. The fire was 75 percent contained around the perimeter of the fire. Officials said they hope to have a fire line secured before tonight. It was confirmed by BIA that the cause was determined to be lightning. * The Navajo Mountain fire was still raging and conditions were the same. Fire crews continued charging the fire. * The Turkey Springs fire was 85 percent contained as of 5:23 p.m. This was lightning-caused. * The Black Mesa fire has been contained.
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