Tucson Region

Update: Mt. Graham fire easing; flash floods now a concern

Flash flooding is possible today in severely burned areas of Mount Graham, fire officials said. With dark clouds hanging over the mountain this morning, weather officials were iforecasting up to one-third inch of rain today, said Bill Duemling, a fire information officer. Fire crews continued mopping up, back-burning and connecting fire lines today in the area of the Gibson and Nuttall fires. This morning, authorities said that 25,738 acres on the mountain have burned. That's actually down from a 27,000 acre estimate they gave Thursday night. Firefighters are simply refining their estimates as they more accurately pinpoint the damage, said Heidi Schewel, another fire information officer. Generally, Duemling expressed continued optimism about the firefighting effort. In particular, "the fire is looking really good and we're starting to feel really good about protecting the Turkey Flats area," where 74 cabins have been evacuated since last week, Duemling said. The potential exists for soil erosion in low-lying burned areas where little vegetation exists to hold down the soil, Duemling said. A federal Burned Area Emergency Response Team is already assessing the mountain to determine which areas are most at risk. The team is also trying to determine if flooding could threaten any areas of the neighboring town of Safford. But it won't start seeding the ground with grasses or planting other vegetation to try to stave off erosion until the fire danger is lessened, Schewel said. Gov. Janet Napolitano is going to speak at 6 p.m. tonight at a community meeting at Ruth Powell School, 1041 14th St., in Safford.