Officials with the Arizona Department of Emergency and Military Affairs say a wildfire that started last week at Camp Navajo west of Flagstaff is burning in an area that contains unexploded artillery rounds.
According to the department, the “conventional unexploded ordnance” was disposed of in the late 1980s and includes what is known as battlefield obscuration, or smoke grenades and other equipment used to hide troops and equipment.
According to Major Erin Hannigan of the Arizona National Guard and DEMA, as the fire continues to burn, residual rounds igniting could create smoke or noise.
“There is no risk to the general public from these activities, and the fire remains confined through firebreaks and back burning control techniques,” she said.
The Patriot Fire, as it is known, started Friday in a wooded area on the base from a suspected lightning strike. Camp Navajo personnel are managing the response and DEMA says firefighters stopped forward progress Sunday with 85% containment. The wildfire had grown to about 1,200 acres as of Monday evening, according to officials.
It created a large plume Sunday and Monday visible from surrounding communities and caused smoke to settle in Flagstaff and elsewhere overnight.
When the fire began Oklahoma National Guard and Army Reserve units were training at Camp Navajo. Officials say the units pitched in during the initial response to the wildfire and took “swift action to contain the fire and prevent it from spreading.”
