There is a big fire burning in OAk Creek Caonyon, forcing evacuation. I assume Hwy 89A is shut down btwn Flag and Sedona.

I have a friend who owns some units at Junipine in the canyon. I don't know if the fire has reached that area. I wish I knew the location of the subdivisions named in the article.

This gives me a very heavy heart. Oak Creek Canyon is one of the most beaustiful areas I have ever been to in the USA.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060619/...tern_wildfires

Oh my gosh- look at the pictures taken last night from the airport lookout.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/06/19/ari...tml?eref=yahoo

I called the Sedona fire hotline which has a recorded message on the Brins Mesa fire. It says that all homes and businesses in Oak Creek Canyon have been evacuated, w/people in the northern canyon (north of Indian Gardens) evacuating to Flagstaff and those south of that point evacuating to Sedona. Red Cross is set up in both Flag and Sedona.

ttt

Hoping to catch USNR and maybe he can give a first-hand update.

I may be the only one following this, but if anyone is planning on driving from Sedona to Grand Canyon this week, you aren't going to be using Hwy 89A. And if you are scheduled to stay at the cabins or places like Junipine in Oak Creek Canyon, you won't be staying there. I just got an email from my friend who owns at Junipine, and she was informed that there is no update on the fire now (other than that it is till active) and that they are being told that it is estimated that 89A will be closed til Thurs.

Apparently a "next level" or tier of firefighters is coming in to work on this fire- I saw that online awhile ago.

Yikes !
My next door neighbors left early this AM for the Grand Canyon and Sedona.
Just yesterday afternoon, I had suggested they add Oak Creek Canyon,
Red Rocks and Jerome. They were quite excited and were going to re-arrange some of their lodging.
I'm going to pass this info on to their
son and see if he can reach them by cell phone.
Thanks, emd !

R5

Hi R5, I hoep you can reach them. Many of the evacuees are staying in local hotels. Here is the latest article from about noon today.

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articl...fire19-ON.html

On that last link I gave, take a look at the 68 "Reader's Photos" that you can click on on the right side. Most were taken yesterday (from many different vantage points), but #68 was taken today. It looks like a very big fire and you can see the fire jumping up to Wilson Ridge. The smoke is really filling up the Sedona skies today.

Of course I meant Slide Rock~

Thanks emd~I've printed out the article and I'm going to leave it at their door now-their son should see it later this afternoon.

Such an incredibly beautiful area
which I visited many times while growing up in Tucson-I hope they can contain it soon !

R5

For those who might not be following the other thread where there is talk of this fire, here is some first hand news from a fellow fodors poster, USNR, who lives in Sedona:

Author: USNR
Date: 06/19/2006, 03:39 pm
emd: I am watching the fire from our deck. We returned to our home Monday morning after being ordered by the police to evacuate the house about mid-afternoon Sunday. The fire appears to have moved from Brins Mesa at the end of Soldier Pass and to be on top of Wilson Mtn., has spread to 3,000 acres or more, and is being fought by ground and air personnel and equipment. Slurry bombers and helicopters with water constantly go over our house. A small twin-engined plane seems to be circling constantly, quarterbacking the fight by radio. Westerly and southern winds are moving the flames and smoke toward the east, which is toward Oak Creek Canyon. The canyon highway, 89A, has been blocked since yesterday. No structures have been damaged and no persons have been injured. I have no info about Junipine, but all efforts are being made, I believe, to keep the fire from spreading into the canyon itself. We are grateful for all those who are working on the fire, maintaining good order here on the flats, and hope they can contain the fire today. We just hope the winds do not rise; temperatures are about 95+ here and likely are lower up where we can see the fire. We are at 4,500 ft. and the fire now is at about 6,000 ft. Flames occasionally leap high, black or gray or white smoke rises in a gigantic plume, you would swear there is a volcano up there. All we can do is watch and hope.

emd-Thanks for keeping us updated on this fire. I grew up going to Slide Rock and haven't been to Sedona for a few years. Was hoping to go in the fall. It's always so sad to go into an area after a big fire and see all the destruction and burnt vegetation. Sounds like they are doing a good job containing the fire. Just pray that winds don't shift.

I just saw this on the Sedona Fire District website:

Brins Fire Updates

Date: June 19, 2006, 2:25 p.m.

The Brins Fire was human-caused. The apparent cause is an escaped campfire from a suspected transient camp in the area. The investigation is ongoing.

My friend who owns at Junipine just sent me this link to the Northern AZ Incident Management site, and there are good maps of exactly where the fire is burning at this link:

http://www.nazteam.com/assignments/maps.html

How very very very sad...and they think it may have started with an undoused campfire.

When people ask for favorite hikes in Sedona, that is the first one that comes to mind. Wilson Mtn was certainly one of the most enjoyable days our family has spent in Sedona, hiking to the peak where we stopped and had our picnic lunch on a promontory overlooking the canyon, then back down. It was so beautiful.

Well, when I started this thread yesterday it should have been called "Fire Burning in North Sedona", as at that point the fire really was more in north Sedona and had not breached into Oak Creek Canyon. But now the thread is titled correctly because the fire has breached into Oak Creek Canyon.

The latest news that I see this morning (story below from 9:30 pm last night) is that as of late yesterday the fire was within one half mile of Slide Rock State Park. There is much concern that the fire could take hold in the canyon and burn uncontrollably on up. There is a lot of fuel up there in the canyon due to much dead wood that has not been cleared, along of course w/the longstanding drought conditions. The fire is not slowing down apparently. A state of emergency has been declared and the fire is a national priority. I read yesterday that Type I firefighters are being brought in.

As of 9 pm last night, no structures had burned and no one had been hurt.

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articl...fire19-ON.html

Right now, only certain hiking trails are closed, like of course Oak Creek Canyon trails and others areound the fire as well as the trails off 152 in west Sedona (Vultee Arch area; the trails are listed at the site below). But the Sedona Fire District and Coconino Forest site websites now say that as of this Friday the entire Coconino Forest will close to visitors- all day use areas, all hiking trails, etc. It says the forest area will open when it rains enough to reduce the risk of fire to a manageable level and hot, dry weather conditions are not forecast to continue.

http://www.fs.fed.us/r3/coconino/new...t-closes.shtml

http://www.sedonafire.org/brin.htm

This is the latest from the N AZ Incident management team site as of this afternoon. Not looking good:

June 20, 2006, 3pm - The Brins Fire is moving down into Oak Creek Canyon. The fire is getting close to U.S. Highway 89A. It is not moving extremely rapidly, however, that could change. If the fire continues moving at the speed it is now, it likely has a couple of hours before reaching the highway. Sedona Fire District is reactivating its emergency sirens. The power line through Oak Creek Canyon is being de-energized. Only essential firefighting personnel will be allowed on 89A. Residents who remained behind following the initial evacuation are advised to evacuate immediately.

What a shame emd, I use to spend time in Sedona and the surrounding area (before it got so popular) as a family member had a second home there.

I have read that the experts expect CA to have a bad fire season here due to our long rainy season and then sudden hot weather.

emd-Thanks for the update. I checked just recently on azcentral but didn't see anything new after your report time. I just hope that any residents that are still there have left. As we learned in the San Diego fires of a few years ago, things can change quickly and lives can be lost. My town, Fallbrook, CA had a big fire in 2002. Several of my friends lost their home but the fire moved so quickly they barely had time to get out. They didn't even have much warning. Six residents survived only by jumping into a pool until they could be rescued. So I hope and pray that the residents are safe and that all the fireman are safe also.

Still very little info tonight, but I did hear from my Junipine friend that the fire was coming down towards 89A between the Dairy Queen and Slide Rock; that was at about 6 pm tonight. So as of that time, it had not started heading further up the canyon. But of course, that is the area where the cabins start.

The most frustrating thing is not having up to date info. Of course, everyone there is putting all their energy into fighting the fire, and they are overwhelmed. The news crews are hours to a day behind in the reporting. And aside from knowing people who live there and own property there, that area is where my heart is. I love the land and have spent some of the most memorable times of my life by myself and with family and friends there over the last 10 yrs. I am hanging on every report and email. Have never been through a fire like this. It's very frightening and I'm not even there.

USNR, if you check in, please post on what is happening there. Would really appreciate hearing first hand news.