We always like to look at The Big Picture when it comes to the wind. If you just wonder about the wind in your own local neighborhood, you're missing the whole drift, so to speak.
Right now there is a "Controlling Low Pressure" in The Great Basin and it is guiding and powering the winds in Arizona. There's Good News and Bad News in this situation. First: The Good News! The Wind direction will remain fairly steady and unlikely to suddenly shift direction(s) under such a pattern. Now: The Bad News. The wind speed isn't suddenly going to diminish when the sun goes down as it typically does.
Nope, this is a "frontal driven wind" and those are the worst winds, as far as fire fighting goes, because they are the ones that continue well after the sun goes down and sometimes continue all night along and kick right back up the next day.
Luckily, the prevailing wind direction is going to continue to drive The Tinder Fire northeast. The farther northeast it goes, the more likely that it runs out of Maxi Fuel and runs into Mini Fuel. Yes, those grasslands outside of the Coconino Plateau timberlands are rich with dry fuels but those fuels are NO match for air tankers and attack crews. Once The Tinder Fire hits grass, it's hours are numbered.
It's inevitable that many properties on the southeast sector of this area were impacted. We won't know the damage for a day or two but such damage appears certain. Our Heart goes out to those who have suffered losses.
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