(Photo by Stina Sieg - KJZZ)

With the Tenderfoot Fire nearly 100 percent contained, only about 135 personnel are now working the fire, including CJ Waldron.

(Courtesy photo)

An aerial view of Yarnell shows just how close flames came to the town.

The Tenderfoot Fire is expected to be 100 percent contained within the next few days, after burning nearly 4,100 acres in and around Yarnell. 

Tom Florence, like many locals here, was impressed by the response to the blaze, which came within feet of homes. On Friday he was busy filling sand bags, hoping to help his neighbors neighbors here in Yarnell guard against flooding, which often follows wildfires. At the peak of wildfire of fire, Florence said, you’d see virtually a different firefighting agency on every street.

“And they were just working their tails off. I was just absolutely amazed,” he said. “And I’m happy. I’m just terribly happy, because I live right down here, a block away. And right in the line of fire, so it would have been a problem.” 

At the nearby fire station, volunteer fire fighter Wayne Lantrip echoed many fire officials who said this positive outcome was due in large part to fire breaks, meaning areas clear of vegetation, protecting Yarnell.

“If there wasn’t the defensive line, the town would be gone,” he said.  

That line was built with federal and state grants after the tragic Yarnell Hill Fire of 2013, which killed 19 firefighters and wiped out nearly 130 homes in this small town. Firebreaks aren’t the only positive response to the fire. Lantrip’s wife, Beverly, also a volunteer fighter, said the sorrow helped bring her neighbors together.

“And that bond is still here. And everybody works together, and it’s a pretty amazing community,” she said.

At the height of the Tenderfoot Fire, more than 450 personnel from across the county were working the blaze, the Lantrips included.