Poco Fire has grown, but not spreading quickly
The Poco Fire burning near Young, Ariz. has grown to 3,700 acres, although Fire Information Officer Deryl Jevons says the blaze is not spreading as quickly. Jevons says the fire is threatening two 500 kilo-volt power lines, but he says firefighters are having success at keeping that threat at bay.
The north side of the Poco Fire, burning in Arizona's Tonto National Forest. (Photo courtesy Arizona Game and Fish Department)"They have done a lot of work underneath the power lines to clear out the brush and doing a lot of protection around the power lines so currently there's no threat that the power lines would have to be shutdown," Jevons said.
Those power lines help provide energy to the Phoenix and Tucson metro areas. Jevons says firefighters are watching the weather closely, although winds are not expected to be a major factor Tuesday.
"There is some area on the west side of the fire where they wold like to do their burnout operation but one of the things we're going to have to do is monitor the ststus of the weather," Jevons said.
Local residents attended a public meeting Monday night in Young to get an update on the fire, which has almost 700 fire personnel on the scene.
