Flames on the leading edge of the 1,138-acre Brins Fire north of Sedona crept into the upper reaches of Oak Creek Canyon on Monday, threatening to advance toward homes, businesses and Slide Rock State Park.
Sparked on Sunday by a transient's campfire, the blaze is not an immediate threat to any structures, but it is burning within a half-mile of homes and the heavy timber of Oak Creek Canyon. Flames were roaring as high as 70 feet Monday, with hundreds evacuated from homes and businesses.
An elite Type 1 command team will assume control of the fire today, with a heavy attack aimed at the eastern edge of Wilson Mountain, which is the blaze's front line and the western edge of Oak Creek Canyon.
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"The fire is still hanging on top of Wilson Mountain. It has started to slowly roll off that mesa into some of the side canyons, but it's very slow progression and it's not making any runs," said Mary Rasmussen, a fire information officer for the Coconino National Forest. "The concern at this point is, inaccessible and steep terrain at the head of the fire is slowing progress."
Air resources — four heavy air tankers dropping fire retardant and eight helicopters dropping water — will again concentrate on the northeast flank of the fire, where it is burning among steep, rocky cliffs and and has rolled into the top of side canyons.
The fire has forced the evacuation of about 400 homes and businesses in Oak Creek Canyon and another 100 homes in north Sedona neighborhoods.
Rob Olson, one of several residents who stayed in Oak Creek Canyon to defend their homes and businesses, watched smoke from the fire billow into the air and flames sweep over trees on a ridge.
"It's very alarming and very ominous," said Olson, who has lived in the canyon for 23 years and runs the Briar Patch Inn. "We just pray to God that firefighters can get a handle on things."
Members of Paul Broyles' Great Basin Type 1 management team started arriving late Monday and will take control of the fire today.
"The potential if it gets in the canyon is not a good thing," said Skye Sieber, fire information officer with the Northern Arizona Incident Management Team, which will relinquish control of the fire. "If we can keep it out of the canyon we'll be in good shape."
The fire is 5 percent contained, with a solid line around the southern edge, near its origin. Officials have determined that an improperly extinguished fire from a transient camp started the blaze.
Officials originally estimated the fire at 3,000 acres Monday, but more accurate mapping from a midday flyover put it at 1,138 acres.
The fire is burning at an elevation of about 5,000 feet, through mixed vegetation including grass, shrubs, Ponderosa pine, piñon and juniper. The more active flank of the fire was the western side of Wilson Mountain, where fuels are heavier.
The weather boosted fire activity, with temperatures near 100 and relative humidity in the single digits. Winds of 15 mph, with gusts of 30 mph, were not enough to warrant a red-flag warning, but close, Sieber said.
Overnight operations Monday focused on structure protection and some work on the line near the fire's origin. Humidity was expected to stay low, and the wind was not expected to die down much.
The fire started on Brins Mesa, about a mile north of the Sedona city limits, and is moving northeast, away from Sedona.
Eight hotshot crews and three hand crews are assigned to the fire, which had cost $500,000 to fight through Monday. Oak Creek Canyon and Arizona 89A are closed, and 31 fire engines are working on structure protection in the area.
A shelter was set up at West Sedona Elementary School, but just a handful of people stayed there. Sieber said many of the houses in the area are vacation or part-time homes.
A second evacuation center was set up at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, about 30 miles away, for people at the north end of the canyon.
"I didn't sleep at all with the worry about what's happening at the house," said Helge Zipprich, who lives in a mobile home in Oak Creek Canyon and stayed at the Sedona shelter with his three sons.
The Brins Fire is the third major blaze in the area this month. On Thursday, fire crews contained a 100-acre fire that started a day earlier and caused the evacuation of 1,000 homes in west Flagstaff. Firefighters credit a quick attack and past forest thinning for minimizing the damage. Earlier this month an 836-acre fire forced hundreds to evacuate and burned five buildings near the Village of Oak Creek.
The Coconino National Forest will be completely closed to public access starting Friday to prevent any more human-caused fires. The closure includes all campgrounds, day-use picnic areas and cabins, all trails, all lakes and all Forest Service system roads. It will be lifted once sufficient precipitation is received to reduce the risk of fire.
The Brins Fire started Sunday north of Sedona and was traveling across mountains toward renowned Oak Creek Canyon, where about 400 homes and businesses have been evacuated and Arizona 89A is closed. About 100 other homes on the north edge of Sedona also were evacuated.
● What's happened: The Brins Fire north of Sedona started Sunday and has burned 1,138 acres.
● What's new: A Type 1 incident management team will assume command today.
● What's next: The priority is to keep the fire from gaining a foothold in Oak Creek Canyon, where 400 homes and businesses have been evacuated. The Coconino National Forest will be closed to public access starting Friday.
