With nearly 600 firefighters battling the Yarnell Hill Fire, authorities announced Tuesday night that the blaze was 8 percent contained.
Meanwhile, in Prescott, a vigil was held for the 19 firefighters killed in the fire, and despite the threat, the delusional members of the Westboro Baptist "Church" didn't show.
See also:
-Westboro Plans Yarnell Trip (Cross Your Fingers for Terrible One-Car Crash)
-More Hotshot Crews Among 448 Firefighters Battling Uncontained Blaze
The "church" members did threaten to protest each of the 19 funerals, but they might not have too much luck getting close enough to act like complete jackasses.
Arizona law keeps protesters at least 300 feet from funerals, and there were a bunch of gnarly looking guys from motorcycle clubs there last night, intent on shielding any potential protesters from the vigil.
Someone sent us the following video of people outside the vigil, apparently prepared to keep protesters away -- which was shot right before the bikers showed up:
As you can see from the photo below, there were quite a few guys with the patched-up vests who ended up there, too.
There's actually a Facebook group just dedicated to keeping protesters away from any of these events, and it seems pretty well-organized.
As for the fire, authorities are putting the estimated containment date at July 12. Evacuations remain in place.
Read the update on the firefighting process below:
Temperatures will be in the low to mid 90s Wednesday, humidity 15 to 18 percent, and predicted winds out of the west/southwest at 10 to 15 miles per hour, gusting up to 20 miles per hour. If afternoon thunderstorms develop in the area of the fire, winds could increase up to 50 miles per hour and more erratic fire behavior would likely occur. This afternoon, thunderstorms developed aroundFlagstaff and moved towardsPrescott, but did not affect the fire area. Some crews working around open fire lines on the northeast flank were temporarily pulled off the line in case the thunderstorm gusts materialized.
Tuesday, firefighters made good progress on the northeast corner and the fire perimeter near Yarnell. Two hot shot crews scouted the western flank until the threat of thunderstorms caused them to move to safer areas. Creeping and smoldering continued around the structures, primarily in the afternoon, and some areas around structures are still holding enough heat to be a concern. A plan is being developed to restore utilities and infrastructure to the affected communities. Contingency lines were scouted in case the fire becomes active again. Tonight, crews will be patrolling in the developed areas and working on flareups and visible heat.
