Cody Fire in Arizona grows, expanding evacuation orders in Pinal County
Update: This article was published May 21. Here's the May 22 news on the Cody Fire.
Fire officials expanded evacuation orders in Oracle, in Pinal County, overnight on May 21 as the Cody Fire continued to grow.
The Cody Fire was 0% contained as of the morning of May 22, having burned over 1,000 acres. Winds and bone-dry "flash fuels," such as grasses and shrubs, spurred the fire east overnight, where residents of the town of San Manuel were ordered to prepare for evacuation. Fire officials expect "extreme fire behavior" to continue May 22, according to an update from the U.S. Forest Service.
"Wind activity is expected to push the fire quickly over the challenging terrain," according to Inciweb.
Ground crews and air resources are responding to the fire, some of whom were already in the area to fight the unrelated Cedar Fire, which crews effectively contained just hours before the Cody Fire began. Four classes of aircraft, ranging from helicopters to Very Large Air Tankers, were available to drop water and fire retardant on the blaze on May 22. Meanwhile, ground crews hustled during the day to extinguish hot spots and establish fire lines.
Fire crews set up a containment line on Webb Road, which runs between San Manuel and Oracle, to seal off the fire's northern perimeter while crews use bulldozers to establish another containment line on the fire's southern perimeter. Firefighters are also protecting structures or other important sites at risk near the fire's edge.
Several structures along the South Cody Loop Road, southeast of Oracle, are within the fire's burn perimeter. Nonetheless, fire officials commonly emphasize that structures within a fire's perimeter may not get burned, especially if structure owners cleared nearby vegetation, creating "defensible space" that firefighters can use to stave off flames.
The National Weather Service forecast sunny, hot, breezy weather for the Oracle area over the week following May 22. Winds are expected to be light, though gusts may reach up to 26 mph on May 23. Winds are expected to come out of the southwest through May 22, potentially pushing the fire east of Oracle and into crews' northern containment line. There is no precipitation expected during the seven-day forecast.
Officials are ordering residents in Oracle zones 5 and 13-19 to evacuate, with all other zones and San Manuel on "set" evacuation status, meaning residents should be prepared to evacuate at any moment. Officials first issued an evacuation order for parts of Oracle on the afternoon of May 21, expanding that order later in the evening as the fire spread.
A temporary evacuation site was set up at the Mammoth Community Center, at 101 W 5th St., in Mammoth, Arizona, the U.S. Forest Service confirmed. American Red Cross Arizona also opened a shelter at Canyon Del Oro High School in Oro Valley.
West American and American avenues, main thoroughfares in Oracle, and South Veterans Memorial Boulevard towards San Manual are closed to all non-local traffic.
The following trails and forest roads are closed: Oracle Ridge trail #1, part of the Arizona Trail; Cody trail #9; and Forest Service roads 38, 4454, 4458, 639, 859 are closed.
The U.S. Forest Service issued its last update on the nearby Cedar Fire on the evening of May 21, with the blaze 90% contained. The fire burned 10 acres south of Oracle.
State and federal agencies announced stage 2 fire restrictions in much of southeastern Arizona, including Oracle on May 21, banning campfires outside designated fire pits and outdoor smoking on public lands in those areas, in an email that was sent to The Arizona Republic.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Fast-moving Cody Fire expands for second day
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