Photo By Bruce Bryce: Two wildfires burning northwest of Eden grew to more than 3,000 acres on Sunday and merged into one. A Hot Shot crew reportedly conducted a burn operation Sunday night as part of the fire suppression efforts.
Jon Johnson
jonjohnsonnews@gmail.com
BLACK MOUNTAIN – Two wildfires, the Black Mountain Fire and the Treadway Fire, burning in the northern mountains behind Eden have merged together simply as the Treadway Fire.
The fires were first reported Saturday and are located 17 miles north of Safford and west/northwest of Bryce Mountain, according to the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management.
Due to the rugged terrain, the fires were initially monitored and then an aerial recon was ordered for Sunday morning.
However, the wind and terrain caused extreme fire behavior and even though six single-engine air tankers, two large air tankers and one helicopter worked to suppress the flames, the fire punched through the retardant laid down by the aerial vehicles.
According to the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management, an estimated 3,000 acres had already burned by Sunday and the fire had spread onto the San Carlos Apache Reservation. No cultural values or infrastructure are currently threatened. A Hot Shot crew was set to conduct an overnight burn operation.
