Following the northern Arizona wildfires

Being a college sophomore studying both Fire science and Emergency Management, I have spent the last few days monitoring the northern Arizona wildfire. The human-caused fire has been burning since last Tuesday (May 20) and currently covers 21 square-miles (Associated Press, 2014). Containment is currently estimated at 25% although a spokesman stated "It will still be a lot of work to be done before those numbers will increase significantly".

I first heard about the fire from a long-time friend who lives in Sedona and started searching on Broadcastify to see if I could hear scanner traffic about the fire. Since then - at least during the daytime - I've listened to the Northern Arizona Wildland Agencies feed as they work to control the fire that is burning around Oak Creek Canyon between Sedona and Flagstaff. The fire has necessitated the closing of Slide Rock State Park.

Fire Managers said their primary goals are to protect an estimated 300 structures threatened by the flames in Oak Creek Canyon, preventing the flames from pushing into the communities of Forest Highlands and Kachina Village located east of the fire, and minimize potential flooding that could occur. Thus far, no homes have been destroyed by the fire.

Bibliography

Associated Press. (2014, May 26). Officials say northern Arizona wildfire 25 percent contained. Retrieved from Fox News: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/05/26/northern-arizona-wildfire-grows-but-officials-say-firefighters-making-progress/