Wildfire Fact Sheet – White SageFire

No White Sage structures lost due to efforts of initial responders and Color Country Incident Team 1

Incoming complex incident management team adds aerial resources and 500 personnel

Start Date: Smoke reported Wednesday evening, July 9, 2025

Origin Location:  1.5 miles northeast of White Sage, AZ

Jurisdiction: Bureau of Land Management Arizona Strip Field Office, and U.S. Forest Service Kaibab National Forest, North Kaibab Ranger District

Fire Size:  Mapped at 19,153 acres

Cause: Lightning

Fuels: Grass, shrub, pinyon-juniper, and Ponderosa pine

Containment: 0%

Public Safety – Evacuations: Residents and visitors are encouraged to visit Coconino County Emergency Management Services webpage for information on evacuations and closures:

·        Coconino County Sheriff Facebook

·        Coconino County Emergency Management (web)

o   Coconino County Emergency Management Facebook

o   Coconino County Emergency Management (interactive map)

Current Situation:

The fire continues to exhibit extreme behavior, being driven by steady winds in very hot and dry conditions. Crews worked again today to secure the fire perimeter near the fire’s point of origin in the with a focus on the White Sage community with dozer primary and contingency fire lines. Hand crews have also been checking and securing those lines. Thanks to the efforts of the initial responders and Color Country Incident Team 1 no structures were lost in the White Sage community. Crews are also working from the 248 road working back to the west to 89A in the vicinity of Lonesome Ranch.

Fire fighter and public safety are the highest priority. The BLM continues coordination with Coconino County Emergency Management on evacuations and closures.

Great Basin Complex Incident Management Team 6 is arriving and will assume command of the fire on the next shift with more than 500 personnel including engines and crews, and additional aerial resources enroute.

Fire managers are asking the public to avoid the area to allow fire resources uninhibited access to manage the fire. Highway 89A is closed at Fredonia and at House Rock Valley Road. Coconino County Sherriff’s Office and Coconino County Emergency Management have issued evacuation notices for the areas north and south of Jacob Lake and the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. Area closures are in effect for BLM Arizona Strip and Kaibab National Forest’s North Kaibab Ranger District.

The White Sage Fire is being managed separately from the Dragon Bravo Fire on Grand Canyon National Park’s North Rim. For information on the Dragon Bravo Fire, visit InciWeb at:https://inciweb.wildfire.gov/incident-information/azgcp-dragon-bravo-fire

For more information visit InciWeb: https://inciweb.wildfire.gov/azasd-white-sage-fire .

Updates will also be provided via X/Twitter: https://x.com/BLMAZFire.

More Information and Resources:

·        Kaibab National Forest Alerts page

·        AZ511 Road Closure Status

·        Coconino County Smart911 Registration

·        Grand Canyon National Park Alerts

·        Arizona Ready-Set-Go

For additional information, please contact:

Bureau of Land Management, Northern Arizona, Rachel Carnahan, 435-218-6594, rcarnahan@blm.gov

U.S. Forest Service Kaibab National Forest, North Kaibab Ranger District, Matt Switzer, 928-643- 8110, mattew.switzer@usda.gov

More Information and Resources:

-BLM/USFS-

Color Country Interagency Fire Management is an organization of fire management officials in southwestern Utah and northwestern Arizona (the Arizona Strip) who promote safe and effective fire management through interagency cooperation. Since many wildfires and prescribed fires are of a multi-jurisdictional nature, interagency cooperation provides an ideal background for cohesive ecological, social, political, and economic considerations for land management.