Wild fire strikes the White Mountain Apache Tribe in Navajo County again

This map, which hangs outside the Hon Dah Casino, shows where the fire is burning and where the fire lines are.

On Friday, July 17, fire officials gave the green light to the residents of Whiteriver, allowing them to return safely to their homes.

Whiteriver resident Manuelita Canty, a single mother of two, said she was really scared about having to evacuate. She said she was worried she would return to a burned home and have to start over with her children.

She added that having to evacuate has really stressed to her and her neighbors how important it is to be prepared and to have extra food and toiletries on hand.

Manuelita said she is grateful to the fire fighters who kept the fire out of Whiteriver and to the community of Ft. Apache for making their evacuation a little easier by volunteering and donating time and resources to her and her children.

The fire also has the nearby towns of Hon Dah, McNary and Pinetop-Lakeside on a four to six hour evacuation notice. However, the fire is steadily burning two air miles away from the trigger points of possible evacuation for the surrounding towns.

Fire Official Clawson spoke to the threatened communities on Friday. He said the “citizens could relax, everything looks real good.”

He also said the evacuation and re-entry of the residence of Whiteriver ran as smooth as silk and appreciated the community’s cooperation in remaining calm and following orders from authorities.

Hot shot fire fighter Jeremy Solomon from Laguna, New Mexico had been working on the fire since July 15.

He said when he first arrived, the fire was burning out of control. He added his crew, “Old Laguna,” have been busy all week cutting fire lines and mopping up small fires that sparked off of the main fire.

Jeremy said on Friday afternoon the fire was drenched by a lot of rain, which he thinks really helped lay down the fire.

Jeremy added he loves his job and was honored to fight a fire on Native American Land since he and the rest of his crew are all Native Americans.

Jeremy said the once tree covered mountains now looks like “moon scape.” He explained how the now burned land gives your stomach an uneasy feeling.

Fire Official Chadene Palmer said Sunday that the fire had not taken any structures and there has also been no major injuries, other than a bee sting and a tooth problem two fire fighters endured while fighting the fire.

The White Mountain Apache Tribe relies on their land to produce revenue for the tribe through the Sunrise Ski Resort, Hon Dah Casino, logging and hunting and fishing.

Even though the fire has not burned any structures, it has put a damper on the tribe’s casino and is driving their wild animals away from their homes, which could hurt their hunting season they rely on for revenue.

Fire officials said crews are starting to fire out, where they do a clean up, and a large column of smoke is building, but assured the surrounding communities that it is nothing to be worried about.

The current cost of the burning fire is $4.4 million and officials expect the cost to raise quite a bit before a complete mop up is made.

Donate to nhonews.com Report a Typo Contact
Most Read