PHOTO: On Sunday night, July 12, Forest Service firefighters responded to a report of smoke from the lightning-caused Pine Fire on five acres of Pine Mountain, which is located in the forest due east of Cordes Lakes.
The smoke was coming from the Pine Mountain Wilderness on the Verde Ranger District, as grass, brush and Ponderosa pine trees were burning, a Forest Service news release stated.
Since the fire is in a remote location with “very few values at risk,” the release added, fire managers are working to confine it while protecting any structures in the fire’s path.
“As the [summer’s] monsoonal pattern continues to develop, it is expected to limit the duration of the Pine Fire and aid firefighters in suppression efforts,” the news release stated.
Smoke from the fire is visible from areas south of the Pine Mountain Wilderness and Interstate 17.