Author: wes

Wes — FYI

The following input came from the Greer fire department late Wednesday night:

The situation AT THIS MOMENT seems to be better than previously reported in the media and elsewhere, but not as good as hoped for. While the Honeybee Lodge was left untouched in Paradise Mt some others in the area were burned. The fire department saved several houses in the neighborhood so the damage on Wonderland Road at the end was minimal. Heaven Scent came through okay. Don’t yet know about the houses around the Butterfly Lodge Museum. Also some cabins on East Fork were damaged and the Peaks may have sustained some damage around the main building.

The fellows at the fire department said that nothing on the West side of Main Street burned at this time. Molly’s is okay, Sargent’s is okay. Not sure about Red Setter or the house at the end of the road next to Red Setter. One house on Ruhr was burned Also Crosby Acres seems to be spared.

Of course there are many flames still active but there are also hundreds of fire fighters in town to save houses that are still facing problems. Don’t yet know to what extent the damage is on the east side of the street.

We are not out of the woods yet, due to spot fires and trees burning in and around the valley, but tomorrow the wind is supposed to be calming down so that is a big plus. Please understand that as unpredictable as this fire is, status may change, but hopefully the worst is over for Greer. Unfortunately the fire is not done and probably won’t be until the rains come. We will send other info as it is forth coming. We’re pretty sure the fire department is a reliable source.

Looking at current weather reports and I see that the wind is now
where near as high as it was this time yesterday. Great for the fire,
bad for smoke. Air quality in and around the Round Valley should be
really bad throughout the day today and based on the reports you are
getting, looks like that is correct. If people are in that area I
would ask them to cover their mouth and nose with a painters mask,
shirt or something of that nature. Since the winds will be light today
that smoke will be sitting around the valley all day. Some high wind
gust still will be seen in the canyons and valleys up on the mountains
due to diurnal heats (heating from the sun between night and day)
Although there is now way to know exactly what the wind will do unless
you are there. I have attached a picture of the current satellite
image of the area. What we had been seeing is the smoke moving right
out of the area and into NM with the wind. Now it is sitting in the
valley.

Please be reminded I can verify and confirm the validity of these statements, but they are coming from people still in Round Valley at this time.

Spanish Trail (Allen) – Wind was calm all night, visibility is very poor at the moment. I don’t think much has changed since last night

South of Dome (Terri) – THE WINDS ARE VERY CALM. WE HAZE OVERHEAD AND IT IS MUCH BRIGHTER. WE ARE FINE BUT READY TO GO IF WE HAVE TO.
– UPDATE (0953) – SMOKE LIFTING A LITTLE. ACTUALLY LOOKS BRIGHT OUTSIDE. THE DARK GLOOM HAS GONE.

Dome (Tom) – Thick smoke, calm (little wind at all), fire night crews are coming in to Day Sleep (between 400-500)

Saw Mill Road (Matt) – Smoke is really thick, can’t see anything more than 1/4 mile away. Today is the first day the smoke actually stings my eyes. No wond yet this morning, and it is pretty cool outside, which I understand helps keep the fire down.

26-Bar (Jordan) – ‎7:30 A.M.- Thurs: Air is absolutely still this morning, and there is so much smoke we can’t see 26- Hill, let alone the ranch. They did some more back burning last night up near Shipwreck along the Big Lake highway, and to the south east near Lesueur Lane. Still no flames visible yet from the main fire. Jarom and Jordan are still here, and we are all fine. We’ll see what today brings.

Amity (Eric) – Wes I am at Amity Ln and Foote Rd , like others the winds were calm here most of the night. Last night was the first night I could see flames on the Mountain South of Lesueur Drive. No Flames on the mountain at the end of Amity.

– UDPATE (1019): Wes, Just talked with the fire crews heading up Amity Lane (South), they are going to start the burn out operation at the end of Amity up the the mountain in the next few minutes.

Greer (Leah) – Greer is 99 percent safe as of right now!! About 5-6 homes on the south east deep end of greer. So sad for the families who have lost everything. We are praying for u and ur families! – Information comes from Channel 3 Helicopter

I bet today has been a long day for you. Looks as if the fire in close
to town but firefighters are doing their best to save homes.
Winds have died down, only report at 10mph in Showlow and the same for
Eagar airport, although some gust are reported at the base of the Flat
Top and Water Canyon. This does not surprise me as we will see some
stronger winds coming out of the canyons and valleys. Ok on to
tomorrow, winds will be lower then today but it will be a little
warmer. Wind gust up to 20-25mph from the southwest will still provide
some fuel to the fire tomorrow. Dry, dry and more dry… not expecting
any increase in the humidity int he near future. High winds expected
again in Sunday, so if fire crews can get things until control by then
we should not see any major flare ups. So overall looks like the
weather will turn in our favor for the next 48 hours or so. I hope I
have been of some help with the my Weather Forecasting. I have spent
the last 8 years weather forecasting in the Marine Corps and 2 year
doing Fire Forecasting… and I am out in 10months… and I have to
say this has been as very rewarding for me to help neighbors in this
time of need.

Confirmed – Greer is on fire from the Owner of Molly Butlers (He’s hearing of structures burning

– UNCONFIRMED – Greer firefighters evacuated due to danger

Unconfirmed – Fire touching HWY 260 near Golf Course (PLEASE send me info to confirm or deny)

I would like to introduce everyone to “Wallow”. She was born today out at our Ranch in Springerville. She is in an irrigated hay field, and we can only hope the best for her.

Full Springerville and Eagar Evacuation | Call 7023083357 to confirm

Evacuation Order | 8 June 2011 @ 1428 hours

Everything West of Main Street in Eagar

Everything West of Mountain Ave. in Springerville

Everything North of HWY 160, South of HWY 60, & the Airport

WALLOW UPDATE: as of 1526 (3:26PM) This is the Evac. Order as understood by 593info at 1528 hours I received a notice of a family being evacuated outside that area. I will update as soon as I have new info.

WALLOW UPDATE: http://wallow.us/ has received two reports of People East of Main St. in Eagar being contacted by police and being told to evacuate. This is an UNCONFIRMED extension of the evac, but this has not been officially communicated to me by any of the agencies.

Mandatory Evacuation Areas

Greer | Alpine | Nutrioso | Escudilla Mountain Areas |Bonita

Dog Patch | H-V | Eagar | Springerville

Pre-Evacuation Areas

Luna, NM | Greens Peak

Hidden Meadows and the surrounding areas.