Pocket Fire in suppression repair stage after successful defense

A month after the Pocket Fire ignited in the rugged escarpments between Sedona and Flagstaff, the combination of firefighters’ efforts and monsoon rains have effectively put it to bed. Neither the risk nor the recovery are entirely over, but focus has shifted to post-fire clean-up and flood mitigation, rather than the frightening possibility of active flame fronts moving toward either community.

Visiting the northern perimeter of the fire on Saturday, in a moment of calm between heavy storms, it was almost difficult to remember just how recently the muddy ground had been an active fireline. In a forest like this one, though, the next fire is never that far away.