The Updates for Friday and Saturday are archived below. They were archived at 5:45 AM Sunday, June 20, 2021.
Posted @ 2:45 PM AZ Time
The wind has picked up at the Verde RAWS data site located near the Prescott National Forest Verde Ranger District office on SR 260. The Remote Automated Weather Station (RAWS) recorded a gust of 24 mph between 1-2 PM today. The base wind speed is 14 mph and wind direction is now from the southwest, as you can see by clicking the link below. The Pine RAWS is showing winds have been gusting into the teens and low 20's since before noon.
The link below takes you to a global wind website. We zoomed in to the very approx. location of The Backbone Fire. The map covers such a large region, it doesn't matter much to narrow it down to a specific site.
https://earth.nullschool.net/#current/wind/surface/level/orthographic=-109.84,32.45,5018/loc=-111.581,34.498Posted @ 1:50 PM AZ Time
Both VLATs, T911 and T914 are working The Backbone Fire today. Their most recent retardant drops were on the southeast sector of the incident.
Posted @ 1:40 PM AZ Time
It now appears there will be two fire camps--one in Camp Verde and one in the Payson. Crews are already stockpiling fire fighting supplies at the Camp Verde Middle School. Making Thanks to Steve Ayers for checking into the Camp Verde scene and sharing this photo.
Posted @ 11:55 AM AZ Time
T40 made a drop on the south end of The Backbone Fire just before noon today. The John D. Hall photo of T40 is from The Telegraph Fire, NOT The Backbone. It is used here to show T40 in action. See full credit below photo.
Tanker 40 - a BAe-146 Large Air Tanker (LAT) from Neptune Aviation Services Inc - begins a retardant drop aimed at protecting the Boyce Thompson Arboretum from the #TelegraphFire near Superior, AZ on June 7, 2021. See more photos and order prints at jdhimg.com. Flight Aware tracking below.
Posted @ 10:30 AM AZ Time
The Backbone Fire Public Information Officers are up and running and beginning to roll over detailed information to the untold thousands of people concerned about the incident.
The PIOs created both a Facebook and a Twitter:
https://www.facebook.com/BackboneFireInfo
The PIOs created both a Facebook and a Twitter:
https://www.facebook.com/BackboneFireInfo
Posted @ 9:07 AM AZ Time
Three additional IHCs (AKA: Hot Shots) have been assigned to The Backbone Fire: Flagstaff, Globe and Sacramento. Four additional Type 2 Initial Attack crews were also assigned: Bear Jaw, Grayback 5A, Grayback 7C and PatRick Environmental 20B.
Posted @ 8:25 AM AZ Time
Looks like VLAT T914 flew a mission on The Backbone Fire during Friday's fading daylight. Flight tracking data shows the DC-10 working an area south of Deadman Mesa in the Hardscrabble Creek area near The Backbone Fire's ignition point. We presume this mission was to stem progress of possible spot fire east of the main incident area. T911 also flew a mission to this area shortly before T914's. Please note captions below photo and graphics.
John D. Hall captured this rare view of a LEAD plane guiding T914 in for a drop on The Telegraph Fire. This picture is NOT from The Backbone Fire but this is what it would look like as the LEAD flies in front of the VLAT. John's caption to this photo states: "Tanker 914, a DC-10 Very Large Air Tanker (VLAT) from 10 Tanker Air Carrier, moves into position behind Lead 5 for a retardant drop on the western flank of the #TelegraphFire near Superior, AZ on June 7, 2021. Visit jdhimg.com to see more of my photos and order prints."
Posted @ 8:05 AM AZ Time
The Morning Sit Report lists the estimated date of containment of The Backbone Fire as July 15.
Posted @ 7:52 AM AZ Time
Here is the most recent Fire Weather update for The Backbone Fire's Zone 118 location from NWS Flagstaff. The Haines dropped down to a 5 today but returns to its max of 6 tomorrow. Yesterday's Haines of 6 was certainly an accurate indicator of how the fire progression played out. A Haines Index of 6 means a high potential for an existing fire to become large or exhibit erratic fire behavior.
Posted @ 7:50 AZ Time
Posted @7:15 AM AZ time
---Posted @ 6:15 AM, Arizona Time
Overnight infrared data collected by a NIROPS overflight around midnight appears to show Strawberry, Pine and Fossil Springs untouched by The Backbone Fire. Of course, that overflight is simply a "point-in-time" snapshot of the incident's scope. The data showed The Backbone had burned 17,114 acres, up from 1,200 the previous day.
Many THANKS to the always accurate Joseph Elfelt (Twitter = @MappingSupport) for his interpretation of the NIROPS data.
Many THANKS to the always accurate Joseph Elfelt (Twitter = @MappingSupport) for his interpretation of the NIROPS data.
No surprise here...The only surprise is what took then so long for this closure.... The latest credible rumor is that the Baker Butte Fire Lookout has been evacuated. We are awaiting official confirmation of that rumor. One The Backbone gets up into the tinder dry pines, it's Off To The Races!
---------------
From near Payson...
---Posted @ 5:40 PM Arizona Time
The Backbone Fire has officially grown to 6,000 acres, just a a few shy of ten square miles. Meanwhile the latest Inciweb update indicates 100 personnel are assigned to the incident, up from 14 at last report.
The Backbone Fire has officially grown to 6,000 acres, just a a few shy of ten square miles. Meanwhile the latest Inciweb update indicates 100 personnel are assigned to the incident, up from 14 at last report.
According to John Henz...
---Posted at 4:50 PM
Supposedly this is The Backbone Fire pyro cloud as seen from Fountain Hills. If this is indeed a valid photo, that would seem to indicate the pyro cloud reached an elevation of approx. 50,000 feet.
Supposedly this is The Backbone Fire pyro cloud as seen from Fountain Hills. If this is indeed a valid photo, that would seem to indicate the pyro cloud reached an elevation of approx. 50,000 feet.
Source to come as soon as we can refind it.
---Posted @ 4:30 PM
---Posted @ 4:15 PM
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=4285346684857900&id=641987809193824
---Posted @ 3:26 PM
---Posted @ 3:10 PM Arizona Time
According to Matt Pace, The Backbone has gone "pyro." What does that mean? Well, it means the fire consumed such a large enough amount of fuel ion such a short time that it threw up what's called a towering "pyrocumulus" clouds. Such pyro clouds often make their own weather and can act much like a blacksmith bellows to amplify, enhance and speed the spread of a fire.
---Posted @ 2:50 PM Arizona Time
---Posted @ 2:30 PM Arizona Time
---Posted @ 1:50 PM, Arizona Time
The Backbone Fire Inciweb was updated at 1:37 PM Friday to state that it has burned 3,500 acres, an increase of 2,300 acres from previous reports. The update also said: "The fire has a high rate of spread, but no long range spotting." The update lists 14 personnel as assigned. However SWCC's online data would seem to indicate at least 50 personnel are fighting the fire. Sinclair's T1 IMT has not yet assumed management of The Backbone Fire.
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