The Monkey Fire that caused road closures and some evacuation of campers Sunday, May 13, has grown to over 90 acres and has about 120 firefighters working on it.
Larson Newspapers
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The Monkey Fire that caused road closures and some evacuation of campers Sunday, May 13, has grown to over 90 acres and has about 120 firefighters working on it.
However, the fire is 60 percent contained and, once it is “global positioning systemed,” is expected to be placed at 70 acres in size.
The U.S. Forest Service will measure the size of the fire more precisely using global positioning satellites. Results were not determined by press time.
The Monkey Fire started Sunday, May 13, at about 1 p.m., southwest of Upper Lake Mary near Flagstaff and burned northeast toward the lake and Lake Mary Road.
Strong winds caused the blaze to ignite spot fires across the highway, involving an additional 20 acres of timber.
Crews continued to work through the night as necessary.
No homes are threatened.
At the height of the fire, the scene included one air attack plane, two air tankers and one heavy helicopter.
Although still under investigation, the Monkey Fire was most likely human-caused.
Due to fire traffic and heavy smoke, law enforcement officers are escorting through-traffic on Lake Mary Road from the southern docks to the Lake Mary Country Store. Upper Lake Mary is closed because the dock areas are being used for fire operations. Earlier, people were evacuated from the docks and the lake.
Forest visitors are reminded to always properly put out their campfires.
When recreating in the national forest, visitors should have enough water to completely drown their fire and something to stir it with. A properly extinguished campfire should be cold enough to touch with a bare hand before leaving it.
