Backbone Fire near Strawberry burns nearly 32,800 acres with no containment – By Amaris Encinas (Arizona Republic)/ June 21 2021
The Backbone Fire, adjacent to the Pine and Strawberry communities consumed 32,757 acres as of Monday as firefighters continued to fight for containment.
The fire has grown 8,565 acres since Sunday.
There is no containment since the fire began June 16 in an area about 12 miles west of Pine and Strawberry, which is about 28 miles north of Payson in Gila County.
Evacuations were issued for both Pine and Strawberry.
Firefighters continued to construct and improve the protection lines around east Strawberry. Structure protection crews are assessing hazards and protecting structures in both Pine and Strawberry, according to the Backbone Fire Information page.
