Longtime Bear Flat residents Phon, 85, and Dara, 72, Sutton drowned March 22 after the flooded Tonto Creek swept their pickup truck off the crossing outside their community near Thompson
Long-time Bear Flat residents Phon, 85, and Dara, 72, Sutton drowned March 22 after the flooded Tonto Creek swept their pickup truck off the crossing outside their community near Thompson
It was a busy weekend for firefighters in Pine-Strawberry with multiple brush fires reported.
About 1 p.m. Saturday, Pine-Strawberry Fire Department firefighters responded to a brush fire at the west end of Strawberry. A homeowner using oxygen and an acetylene torch to set fire to gopher holes inadvertently set fire to their yard, said Gila County Sheriffâs Office Sgt. Jamie Garrett.
On a day with reported winds gusting up to 20 mph, the fire jumped the property and ran through the dry grass into the Tonto National Forest, near the junction of Forest Road 428 and Fossil Creek Road. PSFD firefighters caught the fire at about 1 acre, with one engine and one water tinder. Forest Service personnel arrived with more equipment and manpower.