Schultz Fire in Arizona Grows to 14,000 Acres: Fire Map

by Amy Judd | June 23, 2010 at 03:21 pm

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The Schultz Fire Near Flagstaff Arizona Has Now Grown to 14,000 Acres and is Now 20% Contained

Arizona Central is reporting that residents who were evacuated from the edge of the Schultz Fire have now been allowed to return to their homes, even though the fire has spread to 14,000 acres. About 1,000 firefighters are now working in the region and residents have reported heavy smoke over the whole area.

Much of the pristine wilderness has been burned, and firefighters are attempting to get control of the southwest side of the fire before it reaches the inner basin of the San Francisco Peaks reports AZCentral.

Gov. Jan Brewer, who flew over the blaze and visited with local officials Tuesday afternoon, described it as a "horrible, horrible sight to see our landscape go up in flames."

"We think it's a catastrophe," Coconino County Supervisor Carl Taylor said of the wildfire 5 miles northeast of Flagstaff. "Those woods won't look decent again for 100 years."

President Obama has agreed to two Fire Management Assistance Grants to help pay for the firefighting efforts.

The neighborhoods are not considered to be in danger now, but the forests, recreational areas and summer campgrounds that draw many tourists could be lost as the fire shows no signs of slowing down. It is not clear at this time how much damage the fire has inflicted on the area, but fire officials are estimating that it could be up to two weeks before they are able to extinguish it completely. The rocky terrain of the mountain region is hampering efforts.

The winds that were fueling the fire have died down a little, and cooler weather is expected for the next couple of days, but so are thunderstorms, which often comes with high winds. Crews are just trying to prevent it from reaching the San Francisco Peaks at this time.