Brins Fire: Personal Stories and Photos
June 22 • June 23 • June 24 • June 26
by Morgan Stine, Co-Chairman, Oak Creek Canyon Task Force
The Friday morning map and plan, June 23, 2006
This is handed out to all the teams on Friday about 7:00 AM.. If you zoom on the legend you will find the lines they have cut and the ones they plan to establish.
Friday late afternoon, June 23, 2006
The back burn begins. Notice how they work the fire down the hill from the top using a flare gun to ignite the hill side.
Later Friday afternoon/evening
Down the hill they walk the fire until about 7:00 when a "Task Force" (Incident Command terminology) of hotshots walk by and stop on their captains orders and spread out 15' on center to hold the fire at the edge of asphalt on the west side. They were supported with lots of fire trucks running around keeping charged hoses at the ready or even flowing on the sided not to be burned. Very impressive display of resources.
Friday evening
So with maybe 30 or 40 flare shots they nurse the five down to the the highway controlling the southward movement with men, hoses and sprinklers and hotshots spread out along the highway. As day turns to night the flames are hot and at the very end the drip fire along the edge of asphalt to try and back burn under the trees along the highway without torching the trees.
By late Friday evening
As the light faded to night the hot shots headed for town, the engines rolled up their hose and only a few men and engines remained to guard it through the night.
