Picture Incident
Tonto National Forest
June 2003

Thursday - June 26, 2003

Picture Fire Expected to be Contained Tonight

Located on the Tonto National Forest, 10 miles northeast of Tonto Basin

Estimated Size: 12,665 acres (Human Caused)
Fuel Types: Ponderosa pine, juniper, chaparral
Est. Containment: 85% as of 6/25 (Full Containment is expected by Thursday at 6pm)
Closure: Only Forest Road 609 is closed, from Highway 71 and from Highway 288.

Resources
Personnel: 1,035 Estimated Cost to Date: $3.6 million
Equipment: Engines 14 Watertenders 6 Dozers 8
Aircraft: Helicopters 9 Tankers 4

The Picture Fire is predicted to meet its full containment target date today. Crews have continued line construction around the northern perimeter of the fire. Patrol and mop up of hotspots within the lines will continue on all seven divisions. Smoke may be visible for several days as unburned fuel in the interior of the fire continues to burn.

No structures have been lost and no serious injuries have occurred on this incident. Demobilization of heavy equipment was initiated yesterday. A number of crews will be released from the Picture Fire as well today, to assist with fire suppression efforts throughout the region.

Rehabilitation of disturbed areas such as dozer lines, hand lines, and affected forest roads has begun. Firefighters will ensure that all trash and directional markings are removed, level any berms used for suppression, and block vehicular access to dozer lines. Forest roads used by firefighter traffic will be repaired and graded while some stock tanks used for helicopter dip sites will be refilled.

Recreational sites, boating sites and roads in the Roosevelt Lake area remain open, however the
Cholla Campground is closed to the public, as it is being used for fire operations. Please respect all fire restrictions that are in place. Extreme fire danger conditions are present throughout Tonto National Forest.

Dan Oltrogge, Incident Commander for the Southwest Area Incident Management Team, extended has appreciation to the local communities and cooperating agencies for the support they provided throughout the suppression operations. "On behalf of the team, I want to extend our extreme gratitude to everyone who assisted us; many contributed to a successful endeavor."

More information on this and other wildfires at
Website: www.fs.fed.us/r3/fire
Fire Information Center - (928) 479-3164

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