Due to the progress firefighters have made we will be reducing staff and resources significantly to make them available to assist on other fires. The fire will transition to a local type IV Incident Commander as the Color Country Type III team is returning the fire back over to the local agency at 6am tomorrow morning July 20.
Fire managers continue to prioritize minimizing fire growth with aggressive action as the fire continues to threaten lands north of BLM administered lands (Red Cliff National Conservation Area/critical desert tortoise habitat) on to Pine Valley Ranger District. The fire continues to creep east through BLM Cottonwood Canyon Wilderness. Aggressive suppression efforts from both aerial and ground resources protected the surrounding communities near the fire area. The fire was mapped at 11,993 acres. Fire managers will continue to construct direct line with crews and aerial resources to keep the fire within the current burned footprint.