Wildfire — Oak Creek and Sycamore Canyons, Arizona

2014-05-20 to 2014-05-26 · Oak Creek and Sycamore Canyons, Arizona

Event narrative

A human caused fire started less than 1/4 mile north of Slide Rock State Park at around 350 PM on May 20 during Red Flag Conditions. The fire quickly spread north and eventually out of the canyon and into the edge of the Western Mogollon Rim. Fire burned over 22,000 acres beginning about 6 miles north of Sedona in Oak Creek Canyon, West Fork Oak Creek Canyon, and parts of the rim country bordering the canyons. The fire stayed west of Oak Creek and Highway 89A that connects Sedona and Flagstaff. The total fire fighting cost was over $7 million. The cost of rehabilitation and the expected flood damage has yet to be determined.

Wider weather episode

A human caused fire started out just north of Slide Rock State Park on May 20 just before 4 PM during Red Flag Conditions. The fire quickly spread north up the canyon and northwest up the side of the canyon. A type I Incident Management Team was called in to fight the fire. In all, over 22,000 acres burned. Most of that was low to moderate intensity. At the peak, over 1,200 personnel were involved in bringing this fire under control.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 508650. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.