Cherry Fire Home Page Photo
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A shift in winds and the warm, dry conditions quickly aided the fire's spread.	Firefighters set up an American flag amongst their tents at the Incident Command Post.	Bradshaw Mountain Middle School served as the Cherry Fire Incident Command Post. School officials were very accommodating to the 500 plus firefighting personnel that descended on their school.
Behind the scenes in one of the most important places in camp - the chow hall. A camp crew member cleans the chairs and tables where firefighters eat their meals.	A public meeting in Cherry turned into a party when the Red Cross hosted a barbeque for everyone. The Cherry Fire was started when a prescribed burn intended to help protect the Cherry community got out of defined boundaries. While the Cherry community was never directly threatened, residents did see smoke and flames for a few days. Even after the fire, residents remained supportive of the prescribed fire program on the Prescott National Forest.	The Yavapai County Sheriff's Office brought in their mobile unit to help support the firefighting effort. The mobile unit was a welcome presence in the parking lot of the Cherry Fire Incident Command Post. Sheriff's office personnel provided invaluable support to our effort.
While Bradshaw Mountain Middle School proved to be a great location for the command post, the weather was not quite so agreeable. Red Flag warnings meant high winds and blowing belongings.		This was the view from the helicopter that helped to aerially ignite the Cherry prescribed burn. The Cherry Fire was started when the burn, which was intended to protect the Cherry and Federal Mine communities, moved out of defined boundaries. The Cherry prescribed burn cleared fuels on 4,500 acres of the Prescott National Forest. The Cherry Fire burned an additional 1,000 acres.

Last updated 6/20/2003