Flagstaff residents concerned as Museum Fire continues to burn
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (FOX 10) -- As the Museum Fire continues to grow, so does the concern in the community of Flagstaff."Cautious. Scared but cautious," said Steven Beelar, who lives on Shultz Pass Road.
Beelar says he normally parks his cars in the garage. However, his home is the last one before the National Forest gates, and he has seen the smoke billowing out of the area for the last 24 hours. He's not taking any chances when it comes to his vintage Buick and Cadillac.
"Well as you can see, I have a couple of old classics and I thought well, I'll just park them up here and hope for the best," said Beelar. "I'll leave them here for a couple of days."
At one point Sunday night, Beelar even packed a bag.
"I had everything ready," said Beelar. "I had a suitcase packed, my computer, and things you know that I had to take, and so, they're all set in the kitchen, ready to go in the event that I have to."
A Flagstaff native, identified only as "Dave", says concern is growing around town.
"As we got word that we were on pre-evacuation in my neighborhood, it was just making sure that those that may not be on social media or spend that much time on it, just to let them know, 'hey, get packed up. Get ready,'" said Dave.
Even though wildfires can be unpredictable, Dave says they're no match for the crews trained to battle these types of fires, adding that the entire community is so grateful.
"We're upgrading to a Type 1 Incident Command Team that will be in here later today, and they're jumping on it and save our community, and they're working their tails off," said Dave.