Good afternoon everyone.  Sorry for the delay in the update.  There will be two parts of this update, the first being the official status of the fire as reported by incident command and the second being what I witnessed when [...]]]> The Gladiator Fire has been burning north of Crown King, AZ now for 6 days.

Fire Progression Map: Courtesy of SWIMT

Good afternoon everyone.  Sorry for the delay in the update.  There will be two parts of this update, the first being the official status of the fire as reported by incident command and the second being what I witnessed when driving up a replacement generator last night to town.

The Gladiator Fire is currently the number 1 priority fire in the nation and as many resources as possible are being directed towards saving Crown King.  As of last night there were more than 700 firefighters battling the Gladiator Fire north of Crown King.  140 more fire fighters are expected to arrive today to assist in the efforts.  As we stated yesterday, the crews are pulling off the immediate lines and are working on creating much larger fire breaks further out in front of the fire.  The plan now is to stop the fire at the Goodwin Rd on the North Flank and Senator HWY to the West.  Today is expected to be the windiest day yet so expect lots of smoke in the air when looking towards Crown King.  Crews are still worried about it flanking around town on the West side and coming in town.  Cleator may be asked to evacuate in the next day or so as the fire is getting closer to their town.

As I mentioned in the last post, the generator in town that had been supplying the Crown King General Store and the Crown King Fire Department started going out.  We were able to track down a 60k generator from Empire Cat after hours and take it up to Crown King last night.  A huge thank you to Empire Cat Rentals that returned to their shop even though they were closed and got us a rental generator we could take up.  We arrived in Mayer around 10pm to get our pass to go up the hill and arrived in Crown King around 12:30am after being processed at all the different checkpoints.

I will record another video as I did yesterday describing what I saw with an overview of the fire map so you get a better idea of

Area Map. Courtesy Of: SWIMT

the fire lines.  The fire is definitely burning closer to Cleator than I expected.  It is also burning very hot on the North side of the Desoto Mine.  The area just before the first switchback has all burned as well as the canyon that is overlooked by the Peck and Swastika Mines.  At midnight the fire was still burning extremely hot and tall flames were seen all over the canyons.  It has crossed to the road to the East of the switchbacks and is burning there.  While it was very dark out and we couldn’t see beyond 10ft off the side of the road we tried to get the best idea of where the fire had burned.  There were a number of spots that had burned entirely going up but there were also plenty of spots that hadn’t.  With it being dark, we could see the glowing embers in the night to get an idea of where the hot spots were.  Once we went the the sharp curve known as “Grapevine” and “Peanut Butter Pass” we couldn’t see any active fire hot spots all the way in to town which is good news.  There was one or two little flickers of light down in Hell’s Hole, but nothing like I was expecting.  The majority of fire activity at least near the road was further from town than i was expecting.  I believe hat the fire crews do have that Southeast flank contained as they are reporting.

Once in town, Crown King looked as great as ever, just much darker.  There were two Yavapai County Sheriffs Officers at the General Store.  The town was very quiet but then again it was also very late.  The good news was that from the front porch of the

Carl Shaffer and Dane Briggs deliver 60kw Generator to town.

Crown King General Store you could not see and sign of fire last night.  No glowing sky, no smell of smoke, nothing.  We know the fire is still closer to town than we could tell, but it was refreshing to feel like the town was going to be safe. We were able to get the generator connected and left town around 3am and returned to Phoenix around 5am.  It was a long night but the generator will be more than enough for what is needed.  A big thank you to Carl Schaffer who helped find the generator and drive it up to town.  Watch the first video on Day 2 Update 3 for info on Carl’s house and how it was protected from the fire by designing it to withstand forest fires.   Also thank you to the Arizona Virtual Jeep Club that posted our request on their page and many members of their group were helping look for a generator.  We are excited for their next run to Crown King.

As soon as it is deemed safe they are working on getting residents to return as soon as possible, but that is going to be a few days still.  I imagine that as long as the fire is burning along the main road to town, it will be too dangerous for them to open the road.  Also they are making sure that they don’t let us back, only to have the fire flank the West side and have to evacuate again.

The two maps being used show both the general area view of the fire as well as the fire progression chart so you can see where the fire has burned each day.  I will be doing another Google Earth flyover video later today as well as providing updates about the fire and its activity today.  Remember we love to read your comments below as well as appreciate you sharing our page on Facebook.

We got a copy of the latest fire map.  This is not the topo map, we are still trying to get that.  This is a map that shows the roads.  The fire is getting so large, that I don’t know if we will [...]]]> (Update 7:06pm: Below is now the official high-res map of the day)

We got a copy of the latest fire map.  This is not the topo map, we are still trying to get that.  This is a map that shows the roads.  The fire is getting so large, that I don’t know if we will be able to get a good copy of it, but we will try.  You can see clearly on this map how much growth has been attained by the Gladiator Fire as it is growing North away from the town of Crown King.  Seven Air Tankers (Slurry Bombers) are currently making passes at the fire and are trying to accomplish as much as possible before high winds ground them early this afternoon.  They are hoping to continue making passes until 2pm today.

Check back often for more updates on the Gladiator Fire and updates as to what is happening in Crown King.

Click to expand. Courtesy of Southwest Incident Management Team

Click to enlarge. Credit: SWIMT

(Update 9:54am: Slurry Bombers have begun making passes at the Gladiator Fire, also we should have a fire map posted to the site within the hour)

Good morning everyone.  I just wanted to [...]]]> (Update 10:02am: First passes with Air Tankers/Slurry Bombers were successful, all available tankers, 7 total,  have been ordered to the area)

(Update 9:54am: Slurry Bombers have begun making passes at the Gladiator Fire, also we should have a fire map posted to the site within the hour)

Good morning everyone.  I just wanted to start off and say thank you to all the people that are reading our blog.  Since the start of the Gladiator Fire in Crown King we have had over 6,000 unique visitors to our site.  We appreciate your support for the town and for the firefighters working hard to save Crown King.  Thank you for sharing our site on facebook and for commenting at the bottom of the posts, we read every comment.

The Gladiator Fire grew significantly over the last 24 hours and is now estimated between 5,500 and 6,000 acres.  It is still only 5% contained.  The majority of this growth is in the uninhabited  areas of the Prescott National Forest North of town.  As we mentioned in our update last night, fire crews have changed strategies and pulled off the immediate fire lines.  They have pulled back to roads around the North side of town and are hoping to use them to create larger fire lines in hopes that when the fire reaches them they will be prepared to stop it from advancing and crossing the road.

The main focus of fighting today is still the area around Bear Creek Canyon and trying to keep the fire from racing up the canyon which would put the communications towers on the Wildfire and Towers Mountain at risk.  Power is still out in town and propane trucks were heading up to Crown King to refill the generators at these communication sites to keep them operational.

Today is going to be the windiest day this week and crews will be fighting the fire hard.  Wind gusts are expected to top 30mph, with an increase in wind speeds tomorrow.  This has created another Red Flag Warning for the crews on the mountain.

Two Type 1 Helicopters have already been requested to fight the fire near the communication towers.  Air Tankers (Slurry Bombers) have not yet started making passes this morning, but they are hoping to get them in the air soon.  The focus of Incident Command is still to protect the towers and the town, which is why we are seeing the fire grow North unchecked.  The Gladiator Fire is reported to be within 1/8th mile of some homes on the outskirts of town.  This is most likely the cabins that are scattered along the road past the Gladiator Mine.

Another meeting is scheduled for tonight at 6pm for the community of Crown King.  If you wish to attend it is being held at the same place, Mayer High School.  If you are interested in watching it streamed live, the last few nights Channel 3 and Channel 15 have streamed it.

Check back often for updates.

Here is video of Channel 3′s coverage this morning on the Gladiator Fire:

(Update 5:10pm: Two slurry bombers were ordered back to the area to try making test runs to see how the winds were doing)

We will have a more [...]]]> (Update 5:28pm: The two slurry bombers/air tankers made successful passes on the West side of the fire and 5 more were ordered to start making immediate runs)

(Update 5:10pm: Two slurry bombers were ordered back to the area to try making test runs to see how the winds were doing)

Crown King Gladiator Fire on Wednesday at 1pm

We will have a more detailed update in a few hours, but we wanted to keep everyone up to speed on the Gladiator Fire in Crown King, AZ.  Winds have been a big issue today with gusts between 30 and 40mph.  The high winds again grounded the Slurry Bombers in the afternoon, but they are trying to get a few more runs in after 6pm until it gets dark.  Type 1 Sky Crane Helicopters continued making water drops in the high winds to assist ground crews.  The Gladiator Fire moved North and Northwest today.  The first part of the day was spent trying to keep if from going down into Bear Creek on the North Side.  Around noon it reached the bottom of Bear Creek and started climbing up the other side. The main focus on air operations today were on the west flank where the fire is most active.

It doesn’t appear that any structures burned today which goes to show how hard the fire crews are working.  As an update on the three injured fire fighters, two suffered dehydration and one has suffered burns.  All reports indicate that they are recovering.

There is another meeting for the community tonight at 6pm at the Mayer High School.  All interested parties are invited to attend.

We will have another update for you in the coming hours and are working on the topo map with fire lines of the Gladiator Fire.  Look for an update in the next few hours.

Remember, we welcome your comments, and feel free to like our posts on facebook. Thanks for all the support for the Crown King community.  Also, we are still planning on holding our annual charity event “Wine In The Pines” on June 9th.  Please visit www.wineinthepinesaz.com for more info.

Update (5:10pm) – Last update for a couple of hours, it is still windy for the Slurry Bombers to be working on the North Side of the [...]]]> If you are looking for our main update of the day including a map of the fire go here: http://www.crownkingaz.com/archives/crown-king-gladiator-fire-day-3-update-1/

This was taken 5-15-12 at 2pm on the main road to Crown King

Update (5:10pm) – Last update for a couple of hours, it is still windy for the Slurry Bombers to be working on the North Side of the fire.  Helicopter crews are still making regular drops.  Reports are that the crews will be flying until 7:00pm tonight and they may try to get a few more bomber runs in before dark.  It sounds like the fire covered a lot of ground today with the wind and heat, but mostly was burning on the North and Northwest sides.  As long as the winds don’t change to coming from the North and moving South, Crown King should do fine tonight.  I will update the page later tonight with with videos from the news coverage.  Check back often, and leave us a comment at the bottom if you like the info we are sharing, or better yet like the post in facebook and share with your friends.

Update (3:29pm) – It was determined that it is too windy for slurry bombers to continue efforts.  Helicopters still being used.  Fire is making a strong run on North side.  Crews starting defensive work on structures on the North side of Gladiator Mine.

Update (2:49pm) - Slurry Bombers were requested to return to the Gladiator Fire to test the wind to see if they could resume attacking the fire from the air.  It sounds like two of the tankers have been assigned to another fire, but two tankers are available and will be on route to Crown King to start dropping slurry on the lines again.  Helicopters have been consistently making drops all afternoon.

(Updated  at 12:30) Winds are picking up and creating problems for the fire fighting crews fighting the Gladiator Fire in Crown King.  Some slurry bombers were reporting increasing levels of turbulence when making their passes.  With the wind forecasted to continue increasing in the afternoon, this could cause problems.  If the air crews are grounded due to high wind, the only defense is the crews on the ground. The fire is still being reported as 1700 acres.

It appears that crews have gained permission to dip water out of Lake Pleasant and are currently doing so.  It seems that the helicopter crews are continuing their air attack, but the slurry bombers are making their final passes and will be waiting for better weather.

For the time being we will post updates on this page, check back and refresh the page for the most current info.

The most recent official update:

Source: Southwest Area Type-1 Incident Management Team; Prescott National Forest; Arizona State Forestry Division

Posted May 15, 2012, at 10:51 a.m.) Joe Reinarz’s Southwest Area Type 1 Incident Management Team assumed management of the Gladiator Fire yesterday evening.
Forecasted drier weather and associated strong erratic winds may complicate suppression efforts. Winds from the southeast and south are expected to push the fire north and northwest today. Gusts up to 35 mph are expected this afternoon. Fire behavior is expected to be active to very active.

Fire crews continue working to suppress the fire and provide structure protection to homes in the community. Firefighters will focus on perimeter control when they can do so safely and effectively. In areas where direct attack is not feasible, they will focus on protecting individual structures ahead of the fire.

Gladiator Fire summary:

Size: approximately 1,700 acres based on last night’s infrared flight

Containment: 0%

Cause: Human Caused; originated from a structure fire on private property

Time/Date Started: Sunday, May 13 @11:00am

Location: Community of Crown King (T10N, R1W, S14)

Jurisdiction: Private property and the Prescott National Forest

Fuels: Ponderosa pine and chaparral

Values at Risk: The community of Crown King and the Horsethief Basin. Additional threats are posed to forest service campgrounds, lookout towers, communications sites, power lines and historic sites within the forest.

Terrain: Steep, rugged, difficult access

Resources: 3 Type-1 Crews, 4 Type-2 Crews, 11 Engines, 3 Type-1 Helicopters, 1 Type-3 Helicopter, 6 Type-1 Airtankers, Air Attack