Picnic and more smoke

We still have smoke around us, but it wasn't as thick here in town. The fire has grown, here's the latest:

Alpine Ranger District Closure Area Effective Immediately
Incident: Wallow Wildfire
Released: 3 hrs. ago

The movement of the Wallow Fire has prompted the Forest to announce an Area Closure on the Alpine Ranger District of the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests effective immediately.

Closures/Evacuations/Advisories: The southern boundary of the Closure Area is the Mogollon Rim and goes north to Forest Roads 249 and 116. The western side of the closure is the boundaries of the San Carlos Apache and White Mountain Apache Indian Reservations and goes east to Highway 191.

Highway 191 is closed from Alpine, AZ on the north, to the Strayhorse Campground on the south.

Portions of both Greenlee County and Apache County are affected by the closure.

A precautionary evacuation of all residents and visitors within the closure area is also in effect immediately. Private property within the closure area includes Sprucedale, Beaver Creek Ranch, Beaverhead, Brentwood and residents along Forest Road 26. Campgrounds include West Fork, and all of the campgrounds along the East Fork of the Black River. There is no access to the Black River.

Big Lake Recreation Area including all of the surrounding campgrounds remains open. Access to the area is from Highway 261 and Highway 273.

Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests Fire Restrictions: The A-S National Forests Fire Restrictions went into effect at midnight on May 31. The restrictions prohibit campfires, except in fire grills provided in developed recreation sites, smoking, except in an enclosed vehicle or building, and welding with an open flame. Please see the Forest website for more information: http://www.fs.fed.us/r3/asnf/

Strong, gusty winds are expected at various times throughout the week.

Check for RED FLAG conditions by dialing 593 or 928-333-3412 or on the website: 593info.org.
Unit Information

We joined Andy's family this morning, where they are camping on the Mineral Creek, for a picnic. The guys went and explored in Harris Cave, while the girls and Anthony stayed in camp and went on a nature hike.