UPDATE: As of 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, July 12, 2012, the Hobble Complex fire is estimated at 18,000 acres.
(One acre is about the size of a football field).
If you stepped outside during the evening of Wednesday, July 11, 2012, you may have noticed Mesquite was in a cloud of smoke.
Initial calls to the Mesquite Police Department Dispatch center from the MLN indicated that there was a new fire at White Rock. Since then, reports from several Fire Agency websites have confirmed that there is, in fact, a fire closer to us in Elbow Canyon.
The ‘Hobble’ fire was last reported as 400 acres with no containment estimated.
According to http://www.nifc.gov/nicc/sitreprt.pdf , there is a 12-man crew fighting the blaze, which was ignited with lightning that passed through the region Wednesday night. The site also suggests that there are structures threatened, although it does not specify what kind.
Updates on the fire will be updated here as they come in.
Update from http://www.azein.gov/ :
(Posted July 12, 2012, at 10:23 a.m.) Multiple lightning strikes started several fires on the Arizona Strip late Wednesday afternoon after a series of storms passed through the area.
As of this morning, fire management officers reported a total of 13 fires located on the Arizona Strip on public lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management. Two of the 13 fires, the Hobble Complex Fire (3 fires) and the Plateau Fire, are both approximately 10,000 acres in size.
Smoke may be visible from the Washington County area. Nine of the remaining 13 fires are located on the Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument, and one fire is located on the Arizona Strip Field Office. These fires vary in size and are awaiting more accurate mapping.
A Color Country Type III (T3) Team is in command of the Hobble Complex and fire managers are staffing the Plateau Fire. A second Color Country T3 team has been ordered for the Plateau Fire. Engines and aviation assets have been ordered for these fires.
Start Date: July 11, 2012, in late afternoon.
Locations:
- · The Hobble Complex is located approximately 35 miles south of St. George, Utah near the Grand Wash Cliffs on the Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument.
- · The Plateau Fire is located approximately 65 miles south of St. George near Snap Point on the Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument.
Jurisdiction: Bureau of Land Management, Arizona Strip District.
Fire Size: The actual sizes of these fires are still pending and will be accurately mapped via helicopter GPS mission.
- · Hobble Complex, 10,000 acres.
- · Plateau Fire, 10,000 acres.
Cause: Lightning
Fire Behavior: Fire behavior is running, torching.
Closures: No closures are currently in effect, however, roads surrounding each fire are pending closure for public safety this afternoon.
Structures: Several structures related to ranching are threatened including out buildings, (barns/sheds).
Percent Contained: N/A
Fuels: Cheatgrass and pinyon/juniper trees on both fires.
Fire Crews/Resources: Clint Coates’ Color Country Interagency Type III team is in command of the Hobble Complex. Engines and aviation resources have been ordered for the Plateau and other fires on the Arizona Strip.
Evacuations: N/A
Injuries: N/A
(source: Bureau of Land Management)