Zimmerman Fire near Roosevelt Lake at 375 acres

Roosevelt, Ariz. (July 19, 2010) – Tonto National Forest officials continue to manage the Zimmerman fire, a lightning-caused fire that began July 15 and has burned an estimated 375 acres southeast of Asbestos Point in the Sierra Ancha Wilderness on the Tonto Basin Ranger District. Occasional precipitation has calmed the fire over the past four days.

Fire specialists continue to manage the fire as it burns in extremely difficult terrain with steep cliffs. The predominant plants and trees in the area include chaparral, pinyon juniper and grasses.

Fire personnel will continue to monitor this fire and conduct burnout operations along Forest Road 189 if needed to keep the fire north and west of the road. As the fire moves north into the Sierra Ancha Wilderness, it will be allowed to play its natural role in the ecosystem. Suppression efforts may be used to protect natural resources if fire exits the wilderness boundary.

The fire and associated burning operations are affecting Forest Road 189 and Trail 124 at the Oak Creek trailhead. Visitors are asked to avoid this area to ensure public and firefighters safety while they work on this incident.

As temperatures warm through the day, smoke from this fire may be seen from Highway 188 in the Roosevelt Lake area and from Highway 288 near the Salt River north into the Sierra Ancha Mountains. Weather predictions call for continued daytime heating and thunderstorm activity for the next several days.

There are currently two engines with approximately 10 personnel assigned to the fire.

For further information contact the Tonto Basin Ranger District at 928-467-3200.

Useful Websites:
National Incident Information Center: www.fs.fed.us/news/fire
National Incident Information System www.inciweb.org
Southwest Coordination Center: http://gacc.nifc.gov/swcc
National Interagency Fire Center: www.nifc.gov
National Fire Plan: www.fireplan.gov
FireWise: www.firewise.org

ARIZONA Websites:
www.azfireinfo.com (fire prevention and restrictions)
www.publiclands.org/firenews/AZ.php (fire restrictions and other public lands information)
www.azstatefire.org (wildfire information and Firewise)
www.azein.gov (Arizona Emergency Information Network for ALL hazard emergency and
disaster information)

Fire Restriction Information: Toll free 1 (877) 864-6985