Tucson Region

Mt. Graham fire could torch cabins today, officials worry

SAFFORD - The 16,360-acre Nuttall Complex could destroy some of the 108 cabins in the Turkey Flat area as soon as today, fire managers said Tuesday morning. The telescope complex atop Mount Graham remains at risk, officials said, but the buildings there - made of steel and concrete - stand a much better chance of survival than the wood structures at Turkey Flat and Old Columbine. "Our big concern today is that the canyons, the temperature, the humidity and the winds are all lining up for some big runs," operations section chief Pruett Small told reporters this morning. "We could very well lose homes today or the next day," he said. "We're not going to pull any punches." Weather, topography and an abundance of fuel are expected to conspire and push the Nuttall Complex toward the crest of the range. That's where firefighters have been working to create a fuel break, using Arizona 366, also known as the Swift Trail, and lines created by hand and bulldozer. The hope is to keep flames on the north side of the Pinalenos and allow them to descend into sparse desert vegetation. But for the first time, fire officials Tuesday spoke openly about the possibility that the blaze will slop over their containment lines and start burning unabated on the Pinalenos' south-facing slopes. Should that happen, "the fire is going to do what it wants to do," Small said. As is the case on the Pinalenos north-facing slopes, the range's southern aspect doesn't have any good ridgelines that firefighters could use to steer flames down into the desert, Small said. With flames potentially approaching structures from numerous directions, crews would focus on bolstering protections around the buildings, he said. "We're starting to plan together for that fact," Small said. One major challenge for firefighters is that hot air rising from the desert is creating upslope winds that are sending firebrands across the fuel breaks, Small said. "Normally we'd like to have the wind at our back and blowing embers down the slope, but it's just the opposite," Small said. "There's probably not a more difficult mountain in Arizona to fight fire on than the Pinalenos." Firefighters continue to prepare the cabins, telescopes and the $2 million communications complex atop Heliograph Peak for an onslaught of flames. They've cleared vegetation from around buildings, laid hose lines, set up sprinkler systems and wrapped some structures with a material similar to aluminum foil that can deflect heat. Crews have already treated about 90 of the homes in Turkey Flat, which is about 2.5 miles to the southeast of the fire. But while 70 firefighters worked there Monday, the number is less Tuesday because of increased danger. "We're trying to keep our operations lean and simple so if we have to get out of that area quickly, we can," Small said. Fire officials also cautioned that once a flame front arrives, the structures will have to fend for themselves. "If fire wants to move into those areas with a lot of enthusiasm and it comes in there hard, we will not have firefighters in there," incident commander Dan Oltrogge said. "We'll get back in there as soon as the fire has abated and fight it." There are now about 940 personnel assigned to the fire and the number will continue to grow, officials said. "We're spending, at this pace, at or near a million dollars a day. About $300,000 of that is aircraft alone," Oltrogge said. "This is a big air show due to the terrain." There are 11 helicopters assigned to the fire, but Tuesday morning it wasn't clear how many heavy, fixed-wing air tankers would be able to lay down belts of fire retardant. Two P-3 Orion tankers made several drops Monday right after being brought back into service following the May grounding of the nation's entire fleet of 33 civilian air tankers. But those planes were reassigned later in the day to battle new fires in New Mexico's Gila National Forest. Military C-130s have also been used to drop retardant, but Tuesday those planes may also be focused on slowing new fires in the Southwest, officials said. The National Weather Service is forecasting a 10 percent chance of thunderstorms in the Safford area from Thursday through Monday. Rain could put a damper on the Nuttall Complex, but Oltrogge said accompanying gusty winds and downdrafts could also make things tougher. Contact Mitch Tobin at 573-4185 or mtobin@azstarnet.com.