The 4,190-acre Whiskey Fire is now 20% contained. But the fire, burning about eight miles east of Turkey Butte Lookout is not expected to be fully contained until Oct. 16, according to an incident overview at InciWeb, an incident information system. Wednesday, fire managers on the Whiskey Fire used a helicopter to perform aerial ignitions to supplement the efforts of firefighters conducting hand ignition burnouts, according to a news release from the Coconino National Forest. Those efforts produced large volumes of smoke going northeast and a significant amount of smoke for the next several days.
Utilizing a helicopter to conduct aerial burnout operations in remote and steep sections of the fire area reduces risk to firefighters working on the ground, the news release stated. “Ignitions are important to secure control lines and keep the fire within the predetermined containment area.”