On Thursday, June 6, State Route 179, south of Sedona, was closed for a short period as Sedona Fire District and U.S. Forest Service crews battled a series of fires along the road. 

During the morning, SFD, Sedona Police Department and USFS responded to five separate wildland fires along the north and south-bound sides of State Route 179. The fires started along the southbound lanes shortly before 11 a.m. and another series of fires were reported about an hour later on the northbound lanes. 

“Our ability to rapidly extinguish these fires is due in no small part to the excellent interagency working relationship we enjoy with our public safety partners,” SFD Acting Chief Jayson Coil said. “Arizona Department of Public Safety, Arizona Department of Transportation, Sedona Police Department, Verde Valley Fire District and the U.S. Forest Service all responded along with us.” 

Investigators from the USFS and SFD determined that the fire started when portions of a malfunctioning catalytic converter were ejected from the exhaust of a passing vehicle. “We were able to recover portions of the interior of a catalytic converter at several of the points of origin,” Sedona Fire Marshal Jon Davis said. “Although we were not able to identify a particular vehicle that sparked the fires, it was likely the same vehicle that was responsible for both the northbound and southbound fires.” 

It is important to remember that roadside fires of this type can often be attributed to poorly maintained vehicles and safety chains that are allowed to drag behind a vehicle. In this case, a failing catalytic converter caused white hot material to be shot out of the exhaust. 

“The added moisture this spring has contributed to very good growing conditions for roadside vegetation, greatly increasing the likelihood that these potential ignition sources will cause a fire” Coil said. “This risk will increase as grasses continue to dry out.”