Crews battling the Greer Fire in the White Mountains took advantage of a decrease in winds Thursday and Friday to shore up containment lines ahead of an expected gusty weekend.
Officials held a community meeting Thursday night in the town of Eager where they briefed the community on the wildfire’s progress, evacuations, conditions on the ground and what to expect in the coming days.
“The nighttime is when we’re really having good success out there—nighttime and mornings,” said Eric Johnson, fire behavior analyst for the incident management team, at the meeting. “And then the afternoons are when we have to try to play catch up. It starts getting not so good over the weekend. Saturday is near-critical—about as dry as it gets.”
Officials say lighter winds in recent days have allowed for more air response in fighting the fire. But they expect a return to 40-mile-per-hour wind gusts by Sunday which could give the fire a chance to again spread rapidly.
More than 500 personnel are now working on the Greer Fire as it burns through grass, shrubs and timber in rugged canyon terrain on the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests.
As of Friday morning, the fire had reached 12,615 acres and is threatening homes in the southwestern and southern portion of the town of Eagar. There is no official containment yet. The wildfire started Tuesday on private land and the cause is under investigation.
Evacuations orders are in place for the town of Greer, South Fork, west of State Route 261 and Eagar residents south of SR-260 and west of River Road. Set pre-evacuation notices have been given for homes in Eagar south of SR-260, north of Forest Road 85, and between Water Canyon Road and US-191/180, and all residents north of SR-260 and west of Burk Road, including Springerville residents west of US-191. For specific evacuation and emergency information see, 311info.net.
Shelters for evacuees are open at the county fairgrounds in St. Johns and the Alpine Community Center.
The Arizona Department of Transportation has closed SR-260 in both directions between mileposts 380 and 394 along with SR-373 southbound and 261 southbound.