Firefighters defend home
By Jon Johnson
BRYCE/EDEN—Throughout the night, the crackling flames burning the tamarisk along the Gila River in the Bryce Fire were interrupted by the sound of chainsaws as firefighters worked overnight to control the Bryce wildfire just west of Pima.
On Thursday morning, some Pima area residents awoke to a sprinkling of ash, but no residences have been reported damaged.
The fire started Wednesday afternoon and was first reported around 3:30 p.m. The volunteer Pima Fire Department provided an initial response and, at one point, appeared to have knocked it down and suppressed it to a manageable area.
However, high winds pressed the fire into more combustibles, and by early evening, it had grown to about 50 acres and was roaring.
Wildland hand crews from the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management worked the fire overnight and utilized fire to fight fire. They cut down brush and worked fire lines, and one group, including multiple vehicles, was spotted set up at a property just off Highway 70. The fire burned the area behind the house, but the firefighters stood defiantly, waiting to spring into action to protect the residence.
The fire grew to roughly 129 acres overnight and was guided toward significant fire breaks before cotton fields on the eastern front, with the river as a firebreak to the north.
Additional resources, including two hand crews and two engines, have been ordered today. No structures are threatened, and travel along Highway 70 will not be impacted. While no official cause of the fire has been stated, an initial report to the Graham County Dispatch advised of an ATV “exploding”, possibly causing the fire.
