Wildfire forces evacuation of Winona

A fast-moving brush fire Sunday near the Route 66 village of Winona, Arizona, forced a six-hour evacuation and prompted the arrest of one resident.

The Arizona Daily Sun newspaper, based in nearby Flagstaff, reported Steve A. Carter, 54, was booked into the county jail on suspicion of felony endangerment, felony criminal damage and misdemeanor reckless burning.

Carter was burning yard debris when the fire grew out of control in an area north of Townsend-Winona Road and east of Leupp Road Sunday afternoon.
Summit Fire Department officials confirmed Carter had a burn permit, but the permit does not allow burning trash. Sunday was a no-burn day due to high winds.
Propelled by strong southwesterly winds, the fire forced the evacuation of 75 residents, officials said.

A county official said the blaze destroyed one home (where its residents barely escaped), three mobile homes or campers, two or three sheds and a camper shell. No injuries were reported in the 86-acre fire.

The Arizona Republic reported the evacuation of Winona lasted about six hours, until 8:30 p.m. Sunday.

Duane Deck, Summit Fire battalion chief, said Sunday night that he expected crews to have the fire completely under control Monday. But officials urged Winona residents to remain prepared for another evacuation in case the wind unexpectedly caused the fire to grow. […]

The pinon pines that dot the dry landscape offer little cover from wind gusts, which help flames spread quickly. The fire gained a significant amount of ground in a short period of time as it burned through dead grasses and damaged trees.

“With the wind pushing it through all the dead grass, it was growing quickly and the crews had to play catch-up,” Deck, the battalion chief, said.

A Phoenix-area television station acquired footage of the fire and damage:

The Facebook page of United Flagstaff Fire Fighters Local 1505 posted about a dozen photos of the fire and the damage it wrought.

Barring heavy spring rains in the coming weeks, area firefighters are bracing for a long summer  because of drought. The region around Flagstaff is particularly vulnerable to fires because of thousands of square miles of thick forest.

Winona, which never has boasted more than a few hundred residents, gained lasting fame when Bobby Troup included the town (“don’t forget Winona”) while writing the lyrics to “(Get Your Kicks) on Route 66” in 1946. Initially a big hit for Nat “King” Cole, the song later was covered by hundreds of rock, country, jazz and R&B artists.

(Image of the fire near Winona, Arizona, by United Flagstaff Fire Fighters Local 1505 via Facebook)

4 thoughts on “Wildfire forces evacuation of Winona

  1. To me “criminal damage” is deliberately damaging someone else’s property. That was not the case here, where there was incidental damage.

    1. It becomes criminal in most places in the U.S. if the defendant acted recklessly. In this case, starting fires during a no-burn day would widely be considered as reckless.

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