Schultz Wildfire Now At 5000 Acres and Growing, Type-1 Command Team On The Way

Update: Fire now at 8,800 acres. Read about it here.

FLAGSTAFF (NAZ Today) – The Schultz Wildfire that started late Sunday morning near Schultz Pass has grown to over 5000 acres in size as of 8:30 p.m., forcing residents of the Wupatki Trail and Timberline neighborhoods to evacuate. Residents of the Fernwood neighborhood have not been ordered to evacuate as originally reported, though they have been advised to be ready to leave.

The fire is currently zero percent contained, and no structures have been lost. The City of Flagstaff has been placed in a state of emergency.

Resources from the Hardy Wildfire have been reallocated to the Schultz Pass Wildfire. As of 6 p.m., there were 300 firefighters, eight air tankers, and 5 helicopters assigned to the fire. The Southwest Type-1 Incident Management Team (Incident Commander Dugger Hughes) is on the way to take over command of the fire at 6 a.m.

The Schultz Pass Wildfire is being driven by high winds gusting up to 30-40 m.p.h.

Other than wind, one main problem for firefighters is clearing travel paths for evacuees blocked by onlookers, and there have been reports of homeowners refusing to evacuate homes in immediate danger of the fire. All areas north of Campbell Ave. and west of Highway 89 have been issued evacuation orders.

Second Chance Center for Animals, located along the 89 near Campbell, was also evacuated this afternoon. Animals from the shelter are being evacuated to Fort Tuthill County Park, according to officials.

Sunset Crater National Monument has been closed and evacuated as well.

Authorities are asking that residents only evacuate if told to do so by an official. Police say some might be trying to burgle homes.

Highway 89 north of Silver Saddle has also been closed.

Any residents in need of fire and evacuation information may call 1-888-679-8393.

Firefighters remind citizens that the summer months create dry conditions and to always extinguish fires completely.

There is currently a press conference being held regarding the fires in the Flagstaff area. NAZ Today is there and will bring you more updates as soon as possible.

Smoke from the Schultz Pass Fire tints the sky red as the fire moves closer to nearby residences. (Photo: Kyle Anderson / NAZ Today)

Watch preliminary footage of the fire with information from U.S. Forest Service representative Joel Luttman:

(Photographers Kyle Anderson, Jon Cole)