The Schultz Fire is a wildfire

Wildfire

A wildfire is any uncontrolled fire in combustible vegetation that occurs in the countryside or a wilderness area. Other names such as brush fire, bushfire, forest fire, desert fire, grass fire, hill fire, squirrel fire, vegetation fire, veldfire, and wilkjjofire may be used to describe the same...

 which burned over 15000 acres (60.7 km²), including Schultz Peak in Coconino National Forest

Coconino National Forest

The Coconino National Forest is a 1.856-million acre United States National Forest located in northern Arizona in the vicinity of Flagstaff. Originally established in 1898 as the "San Francisco Mountains National Forest Reserve", the area was designated a U.S...

 near Flagstaff, Arizona

Flagstaff, Arizona

Flagstaff is a city located in northern Arizona, in the southwestern United States. In 2010, the city's population was 65,870. The population of the Metropolitan Statistical Area was at 134,421 in 2010. It is the county seat of Coconino County...

 in June 2010. The suspected cause is a campfire

Campfire

A campfire is a fire lit at a campsite, to serve the following functions: light, warmth, a beacon, a bug and/or apex predator deterrent, to cook, and for a psychological sense of security. In established campgrounds they are usually in a fire ring for safety. Campfires are a popular feature of...

 left unattended, and the United States Forest Service

United States Forest Service

The United States Forest Service is an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 155 national forests and 20 national grasslands, which encompass...

 is offering a $2500 reward for information.

The Schultz Fire began at 11:09 A.M. June 20 east of Flagstaff and grew rapidly due to high wind

Wind

Wind is the flow of gases on a large scale. On Earth, wind consists of the bulk movement of air. In outer space, solar wind is the movement of gases or charged particles from the sun through space, while planetary wind is the outgassing of light chemical elements from a planet's atmosphere into space...

s, requiring the Coconino County

Coconino County, Arizona

-2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*61.7% White*1.2% Black*27.3% Native American*1.4% Asian*0.1% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*3.1% Two or more races*5.2% Other races*13.5% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...

 sheriff to close U.S. 89

U.S. Route 89

U.S. Route 89 is a north–south United States Highway with two sections, and one former section. The southern section runs for 848 miles from Flagstaff, Arizona, to the southern entrance of Yellowstone National Park...

 and evacuate 748 homes, an animal shelter

Animal shelter

An animal shelter is a facility that houses homeless, lost, or abandoned animals; primarily a large variety of dogs and cats.Parrots, for example, are the third most common pet owned by people...

, Sunset Crater

Sunset Crater

Sunset Crater is a volcanic cinder cone located north of Flagstaff in U.S. State of Arizona. The crater is within the Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument....

 and Wupatki National Monument

Wupatki National Monument

The Wupatki National Monument is a National Monument located in north-central Arizona, near Flagstaff. Rich in Native American ruins, the monument is administered by the National Park Service in close conjunction with the nearby Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument.Wupatki was listed on the...

. 300 firefighter

Firefighter

Firefighters are rescuers extensively trained primarily to put out hazardous fires that threaten civilian populations and property, to rescue people from car incidents, collapsed and burning buildings and other such situations...

s responded, including personnel from the U.S. Forest Service and a Type One Incident Management Team, sent to events of "national significance".

Timeline

On June 22, the fire was 20 percent contained and approximately one thousand people were allowed to return to their homes. By that time 14000 acres (56.7 km²) had burned and 800 firefighters were fighting the blaze. The southern end of the fire was five miles (8 km) from Flagstaff. Smoke in the Flagstaff area resulted from backfire

Backfire

The word backfire in general use usually refers to a plan where the opposite of the desired effect happens or the perpetrator is directly affected as opposed to their intended target.In economics, backfire is described in terms of:* the Jevons paradox...

s.

Also on June 22, Arizona governor Jan Brewer

Jan Brewer

Janice Kay "Jan" Brewer is the 22nd and current Governor of the U.S. state of Arizona and a member of the Republican Party. She is the fourth woman, and third consecutive woman, to hold the office...

 flew over the fire and succeeded in getting federal fire management assistance. 756 area residents went back to their homes June 23. At that point, only two firefighters had been injured and no homes were destroyed. Personnel from as distant as Idaho

Idaho

Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....

 were working the fire.

By June 25 the fire was 40 percent contained, largely due to backfires which created a great deal of smoke in Flagstaff.

On June 29, firefighters continued to spray water on Doyle Peak

Doyle Peak

Doyle Peak is in the San Francisco Peaks of northern Arizona and is the fourth highest peak, but the sixth highest named point in the state of Arizona with an elevation of 11,460 feet. Both Aubineau Peak and Rees Peak are higher, but they do not have enough prominence from their neighbors to be...

. The major concern was stabilizing the burned areas of Doyle Peak and Schultz Peak to prevent erosion

Erosion

Erosion is when materials are removed from the surface and changed into something else. It only works by hydraulic actions and transport of solids in the natural environment, and leads to the deposition of these materials elsewhere...

 and mudslides such as that after the 1977 Radio Fire on Mount Elden

Mount Elden

Mount Elden, or Elden Mountain, is located in central Coconino County northeast of Flagstaff, Arizona. It takes its name from one of the region's earliest Anglo settlers, John Elden, who, along with his family, established a homestead on the mountain’s lower slopes and grazed sheep on the open...

. Forests such as aspen

Aspen

Populus section Populus, of the Populus genus, includes the aspen trees and the white poplar Populus alba. The five typical aspens are all native to cold regions with cool summers, in the north of the Northern Hemisphere, extending south at high altitudes in the mountains. The White Poplar, by...

 could grow quickly, but cutting down burned trees or adding hay

Hay

Hay is grass, legumes or other herbaceous plants that have been cut, dried, and stored for use as animal fodder, particularly for grazing livestock such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep. Hay is also fed to pets such as rabbits and guinea pigs...

 would be other techniques to use to stabilize slopes.

On July 1 some trails in the Coconino National Forest reopened as the fire was pronounced contained, and a Type III Incident Management Team took over July 2. Rehabiliation of burned areas began.

On July 15 additional areas reopened to the public, while others will remain off limits until September 15.

Earlier fire

The Schultz Fire was the area's second fire to start in the same weekend; the 300 acres (1.2 km²) Hardy Fire southeast of Flagstaff began June 19 and Flagstaff Fire Department ordered some evacuations which became unnecessary once the fire became 30 percent contained. This fire was 90 percent contained by June 25, as was the 3400 acres (13.8 km²) Eagle Rock Fire west of Flagstaff, started June 11 by lightning

Lightning

Lightning is an atmospheric electrostatic discharge accompanied by thunder, which typically occurs during thunderstorms, and sometimes during volcanic eruptions or dust storms...

.