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Bear Fire

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Bear Fire
Part of the 2021 Arizona wildfires
Date
  • June 16, 2021 (2021-06-16) – July 2021 (2021-07)
LocationClifton, Arizona
Coordinates33°27′29″N 109°23′31″W / 33.458°N 109.392°W / 33.458; -109.392
Statistics
Burned area23,868 acres (9,659 ha)
Impacts
Structures destroyed0
Ignition
CauseLightning
Map
Bear Fire is located in Arizona
Bear Fire
Location in Eastern Arizona

The Bear Fire was a large lightning-caused wildfire that burned in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests in eastern Arizona during the summer of 2021.[1] The fire started on June 16, 2021, near Clifton in Greenlee County and eventually spread to an estimated 23,868 acres (9,659 ha) before it was fully contained (as of June 2021), making it one of several major wildfires to burn across Arizona that summer alongside the Telegraph, Backbone, Mescal, and Rafael fires.[2][3][4][5]

Timeline

[edit]

June

[edit]

The Bear Fire ignited during an active wildfire season in Arizona, in which several large fires, including the Telegraph Fire near Superior, the Mescal Fire near Globe, and the Backbone Fire near Payson, burned simultaneously across the state amid hot and dry conditions.[6][7] The incident was first reported on June 16, 2021, at around 2:00 pm MDT near Clifton, Arizona.[8]

The Bear Fire burned in remote and steep terrain on the Clifton Ranger District of the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest, approximately ten miles south of Hannagan Meadow and between Alpine and Clifton, in vegetation described by fire managers as dense brush transitioning into ponderosa pine forest.[9][10]

July

[edit]

Through late June and into July, the fire continued to spread under hot, dry conditions typical of the pre-monsoon fire season in eastern Arizona.[11] Suppression resources assigned to the incident included a Type 3 incident management structure, helicopters and handcrews.[12]

The onset of the North American monsoon in July brought increased humidity and periodic rainfall to eastern Arizona, which is typically credited with helping slow or halt the spread of many of the state's wildfires, including the Bear Fire.[13][14] By early July 2021, the fire had grown to 23,868 acres, according to data recorded by the National Interagency Fire Center. No fatalities, injuries, or structure losses were reported in connection with the fire.

Cause

[edit]

Fire investigators attributed the cause of the Bear Fire to a lightning strike, similar to other ignitions across Arizona's high country in mid-June 2021.[2][15][16]

Containment

[edit]

The fire was 20% percent contained on July 17, 2021.[17] The National Interagency Fire Center reported that the fire burned through area of 23,868 acres by July 1. The fire was eventually declared fully contained by September.

Impact

[edit]

Closures and Evacuations

[edit]

The fire resulted in the partial closure of U.S. Route 191 due to the Bear Fire.[15][18][19][20] The Arizona Department of Transportation initially closed the highway between milepost 201 and milepost 225 on June 20, 2021, and the closure was later extended from milepost 175 to milepost 250, as fire activity and smoke conditions progressed.

No widespread evacuation orders were enacted, due to the remoteness of the Bear Fire's location. Suppression measures were primarily made to protect isolated cabins and ranch infrastructure.

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ↑ "Lightning-caused Bear Fire 18% contained; what you need to know about the wildfire". FOX 10 Phoenix. June 20, 2021. Retrieved September 17, 2026.
  2. 1 2 "Bear Fire Information - InciWeb the Incident Information System". inciweb.nwcg.gov. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
  3. ↑ "Prep work continues on Horton Complex". ein.az.gov. Arizona Emergency Information Network. Archived from the original on June 23, 2021. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
  4. ↑ "Horton Complex". inciweb.nwcg.gov. Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
  5. ↑ "2021 Map: Every wildfire burning in Arizona". FOX 10 Phoenix. June 21, 2021. Retrieved September 17, 2026.
  6. ↑ US Department of Commerce, NOAA. "2021 Climate Year in Review for Phoenix, Yuma, and El Centro". www.weather.gov. NOAA's National Weather Service. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  7. ↑ "Record-breaking June 2021 heatwave impacts the U.S. West | NOAA Climate.gov". www.climate.gov. June 23, 2021. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  8. ↑ "Bear Fire Information - InciWeb the Incident Information System". inciweb.nwcg.gov. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
  9. ↑ Staff, Abc15 com (June 21, 2021). "Crews battling Bear Fire burning in Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest". ABC15 Arizona in Phoenix (KNXV). Retrieved September 19, 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  10. ↑ InciWeb developed and maintained by USDA Forest Service, Fire and Aviation Management, helpdesk@dms.nwcg.gov. "Bear Fire Information - InciWeb the Incident Information System". InciWeb.gov. Archived from the original on October 14, 2021. Retrieved September 19, 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  11. ↑ Elamroussi, Aya (June 16, 2021). "One of Arizona's largest wildfires continues to grow as heat and dry conditions grip the West | CNN". CNN. Retrieved September 27, 2026.
  12. ↑ @U.S. Forest Service - Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests; (June 19, 2021). Forest Service - Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests/posts/3099276270295686/ "#BearFire Update June 18, 2021: Clifton, AZ, June 18, 2021 - The Bear fire is located 13 Miles south of Hannagan Meadow Size: 500 acres Containment: 0% Incident Start Date: June 16, 2021 Cause: Lightning Location: 13 miles south of Hannagan Meadow Resources Responding: Local Initial Attack crew and 1 Type 3 helicopter Fire Update: Bear Fire is a lightning ignition fire with a suppression: Confine/monitor, indirect and direct tactics. Point protection of Highway 191, range improvements, remote cabins, and Rose Peak Lookout is in process. Current fire behavior includes smoldering, creeping, single tree and isolated torching in Ponderosa Pine with grass and brush. Confine: A wildfire response strategy of restricting a wildfire to a defined area, primarily using natural barriers that are expected to restrict the spread of the wildfire under the prevailing and forecasted weather conditions. Indirect: is accomplished by building a fireline some distance from the fire edge and backfiring the unburned fuel between the fireline and the fire edge. Indirect attack takes advantage of using natural and human-made barriers as fireline and allows a choice of timing for backfiring. Direct: Any treatment applied directly to burning fuel such as wetting, smothering, or chemically quenching the fire or by physically separating the burning from unburned fuel. Point/Zone Protection: A wildfire response strategy which protects specific assets or highly valued resources from the wildfire without directly halting the continued spread of the wildfire. Smoke: Smoke from the Bear Fire may impact Highway 191 and the Blue River. An interactive smoke map at fire.airnow.gov/ allows you to search for current smoke information. Closures and Evacuations: Highway 191 will be closed due to fire activity beginning Sunday, June 20, 2021. The closure will be in effect until further notice. For information on the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests, check out our website at www.fs.usda.gov/asnf" – via Facebook. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  13. ↑ Guo, Yafang; Mirrezaei, Mohammad Amin; Sorooshian, Armin; Arellano, Avelino F. (June 5, 2025). "Source contribution to ozone pollution during June 2021 fire events in Arizona: insights from WRF-Chem-tagged O3 and CO". Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. 25 (11). Copernicus GmbH: 5591–5616. Bibcode:2025ACP....25.5591G. doi:10.5194/acp-25-5591-2025. ISSN 1680-7316.
  14. ↑ "Without the North American monsoon, reining in wildfires gets harder | PreventionWeb". www.preventionweb.net. October 14, 2020. Retrieved September 27, 2026.
  15. 1 2 "Crews battling Bear Fire burning in Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest". KNXV. June 21, 2021. Retrieved July 17, 2021.
  16. ↑ "Lightning-caused Bear Fire 18% contained; what you need to know about the wildfire". FOX 10 Phoenix. June 20, 2021. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  17. ↑ "Bear Fire Information - InciWeb the Incident Information System". inciweb.nwcg.gov. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
  18. ↑ Staff, Arizona's Family Digital News. "US 191 closed in eastern Arizona as Bear Fire burns 11,000 acres". AZFamily. Retrieved July 17, 2021.
  19. ↑ "Bear Fire forces road closure, tops 23,500 acres at 20% containment". 12news.com. June 20, 2021. Retrieved July 17, 2021.
  20. ↑ InciWeb developed and maintained by USDA Forest Service, Fire and Aviation Management, helpdesk@dms.nwcg.gov. "Bear Fire Information - InciWeb the Incident Information System". inciweb.nwcg.gov. Archived from the original on October 14, 2021. Retrieved September 19, 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bear_Fire&oldid=1377065575"