Firefighters, rain help quell wildfire in Sonoita that burned 4 homes

Minutes before the storm arrived, Joseph De Wolf, chief of the Sonoita-Elgin Fire District, told about 75 people gathered at the Sonoita Bible Church to “pray for rain.”

But he cautioned lightning might reignite the Encino Fire that consumed nearly 1,300 acres in and around the town.

The fire threatened 150 structures and four homes were destroyed. Two other homes were severely damaged, said Katie Goodwin, spokeswoman for the fire district. The only injury reported was a Forest Service employee with a fractured ankle.

Several residents said sheds and other outbuildings on their properties were destroyed.

De Wolf told the crowd the fire did not damage any more structures Wednesday. However, another fire started in Elgin, which meant more firefighters would head there and fewer would be available to accompany residents at their homes to gather medicine and other supplies.

As of Wednesday evening, about 250 firefighters were working on the Encino Fire, which was 60 percent contained, according to the Arizona State Forestry Division.

Along Boyd Lane, the fire had blackened swaths of land among the homes. Jerry Bianchi’s house barely escaped the flames, which crept up the hill to the edge of his driveway.

All that was left of a stack of firewood a few yards from his house was a pile of white ash. He said he considers himself lucky that the Arizona cypress trees that line the driveway didn’t burn and lead the fire to his house.

Stan Keith’s house in the Canelo Hills area also barely escaped the fire, which crept up to the walls of his house around 8 p.m. but didn’t ignite the structure.

His 5-acre lot is “just black” from the fire, but a 100-foot fire break around his house where he mowed the grass and watered the trees likely helped save his house, he said while waiting with a half-dozen other people at the Sonoita-Elgin Fire District station.

“I obviously dodged a bullet,” Keith said, praising firefighters for their efforts in his neighborhood.

His 4½-foot iguana also survived.

Cleone Fields and her husband watched the fire approach their house around 6 p.m. Tuesday from their back deck. After a half-hour, the flames were getting too close and they and their two dogs headed to the Sonoita Inn, where Fields works as the manager.

“As far as I know, my house is still there,” she said. “But it’s a hot spot.”

The owners of the inn opened up rooms free of charge to residents who evacuated their homes, Fields said. About 30 people stayed the night at the inn, along with their dogs and cats.

“We were like a kennel here last night,” she said.

At the community meeting with De Wolf, a woman offered her five-bedroom home to residents who had evacuated their homes. Another woman told the crowd that air-conditioned crates at the fairground were available for pets.

Crews Wednesday morning were replacing damaged power poles that carried electricity to homes, which in Sonoita also means powering water wells.

The fire damaged 25 power poles and by Tuesday night 375 customers had their power restored, according to Jack Blair, a spokesman for the Sulphur Springs Valley Electric Cooperative. He expected another 125 customers would have their power restored by Thursday.

Cattle were moved to the fairgrounds and horses were taken to the Canelo Cowboy Church, DeWolf said.

Vehicles from various fire departments throughout the state moved along the streets of Sonoita and De Wolf commended the state for providing resources to help fight the fire.