A five- to six-acre brush fire broke out on Oak Creek Ranch School property at approximately 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 5, garnering response from three Verde Valley emergency response agencies as well as13 firefighters from the U.S. Forest Service.
According to Verde Valley Fire District Assistant Chief and incident commander Mike Flummer, the fire resulted from a class project being conducted at the edge of the treeline on school property and quickly spread across the woods to threaten other structures on neighbors’ properties.
One storage shed belonging to a neighbor was lost in the fire.
Oak Creek Ranch School owner David Wick said science teacher Chris Sindt and five students formed a bucket brigade using water from Oak Creek and a swimming pool to stop the fire from reaching the same neighbor’s home.
Flummer said a change in the wind direction also likely played a big role in keeping the house from burning.
The wind carried sparks and hot ash which started spot fires in different directions from the start of the original burn. At times, it was difficult to discern the falling ash from the cottonwood pollen floating through the air.
Named the “School Fire” by Flummer, it is the biggest brush fire of the 2010 season, which began approximately two weeks ago.
A U.S. Forest Service sawyer looks up to monitor progress on a tree being cut down to mop-up damage caused by a five to six acre brush fire at Oak Creek Ranch School in Cornville on Wednesday, May 5.
Firefighters lug hose across the unfinished roof of a structure on a neighbor’s property adjacent to Oak Creek Ranch School in Cornville on Wednesday, May 5. The five to six acre brush fire was caused by a class project being conducted at the edge of the treeline on school property.
