**7:55 a.m. 7/10/12** Recent Rain Has Helped Seeley Fire AND Hurt It

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With the recent rain that has fallen upon the Seeley Fire in the last handful of days, Eastern Arizona Incident Management Team’s Jonetta Trued said that though the rain has helped firefighters contain the flames, it has also hindered their efforts.

They are concerned about areas where the fire is smoldering. Eastern Arizona is worried when the current moisture in the groundВ dissipatesВ that flames could possibly spark up again.

“It hurt us and helped us,” Trued said. “It dampened it in places where the flames were smaller which helped but in the places where it rained in the bigger timber it didn’t really help. Plus it makes the fire lines harder to build and sustain.”

When the fire is contained sufficiently, fire officials will then turn ownership back to Manti-La Sal authorities. Trued said that Type 2 teams may leave if the fire is only 90 percent contained. But smoldering issues could still be a problem in the transition.

At last report, the fire was up to 76 percent containment and more than 100 total firefighters have left the area.

Fire officials still estimate July 15 as the containment date.

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