Tussock Fire Morning Update, May 12, 2021
Organization
BLM Office:
Media Contact:
Acres: 5,517
Percent Containment: 15%
Date/Time Detected: May 8, 2021. 2:15 PM
Structures burned: 0
Number of Resources: 398
Cause: Human-under investigation
Origin/Location: 7 miles southwest of Crown King.
Fire officials ask public to not drive near the Tussock Fire - observe land closures
Nearly 200 extra firefighters and heavy equipment operators arrived Tuesday at the Tussock fire, prompting incident officials to ask summer visitors and residents to drive very slowly. Areas within the Prescott National Forest and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) remain closed for public and firefighter safety.
Heavy equipment is deployed to clear thick brush and improve access for crews working on the fire’s western perimeter. A total of seven helicopters are on scene, dropping water and retardant to keep the fire in check on the northern perimeter where firefighter access is limited by the steep and rugged terrain. On the fire’s eastern side, personnel will burn fuels on Wednesday just west of the Crown King Trail to create a fire line there. Grass continues to burn along the southern flank towards Silver Creek and is moving southeasterly towards Sand Creek and French Creek. Smokey conditions are likely.
Temperatures and winds are increasing Wednesday through Friday with no helpful humidity. Vegetation is already drought-stressed and easy to ignite. Weather conditions are not forecast to aid firefighting until next week.
EVACUATIONS ORDERED IN THE FOLLOWING AREAS:
Minnehaha, Fort Misery, and Horse Thief Basin are evacuated; however, Crown King remains at SET. Residents should begin preparing in the event an evacuation order is issued. Crown King is closed to non-residents. More information on READY-SET-GO: https://ein.az.gov/ready-set-go
PUBLIC LAND CLOSURES
Public Lands within the BLM Hassayampa Field Office are closed. All Prescott National Forest lands, roads, and trails south of NFSR94 (along NFSR82A to the junction of NFSR52), and south to the junction of CR177 east are closed, including Senator Hwy (FR 52) between Hooper Saddle (FR 362) and Crown King (FR 259). Additionally, the area of Cow Tank road, that leads to FR 711 near Lake Pleasant is closed. People should not travel into any of the fire area. More information is on: InciWeb: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/7472/
Public Information Phone line (8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.): 928-228-0720
Media Information Phone Line: 928-421-4579
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TussockFireInfo
YCSO Phone Line: 928-771-3260
The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land located primarily in 12 western states, including Alaska, on behalf of the American people. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. Our mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of America’s public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations.