Flames and smoke are visible in Flagstaff from a burnout operation on the western side of the Schultz Fire midday Thursday (Patrick Walker/NAZ Today)
FLAGSTAFF (NAZ Today)– A controlled burn produced a large plume of smoke above the western edge of the Schultz Fire today, but the controlled fire helped to contain the main fire.
The fire grew slightly to 14,800 acres, but the big news is that successful burnout operations helped crews increase containment on the fire, to 40 percent.
The smoke from the burnout began rising at about 12 noon today, and the large plume began spreading eastward over Highway 89.
Malis-Clark said that the burnout is working. “It’s going very well,” she said. ”It’s being done today to help ‘button up’ the fireline before the forecast ‘red flag’ high wind event tomorrow.”
According to the National Weather Service, winds will start out calm in the morning Friday before picking up to sustained south-southwesterly winds of 20-25 mph in the afternoon, with gusts in the 35 mph range. Breezy conditions are expected to continue into the early morning hours Saturday.
Firefighters will work through the night to continue to improve fire lines and mop up along existing lines.
Smoke billowing from a burnout on the western flank of the Schultz Fire (Patrick Walker/NAZ Today)
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