On June 25, 1990, a lightning strike sparked a fire beneath the Mogollon Rim about 10 miles northeast of Payson. Conditions were such that the fire burned quickly and within a matter of hours the Dude Fire had become extremely active. The fire was reported at 1315. Initial attack resources arrived at 1400 to find a very active10-acre fire. An hour later over 360 firefighters including engines, dozers, handcrews, aviation resources, and a Type II Incident Management Team had been ordered. The Type II IMT was on site and assumed command of the fire by 1800.

At this point, additional resources have been ordered through the dispatch center. An airtanker is also requested for assistance with the slopover. At this point, the Burn Boss decides to convert the prescribed fire to a wildland fire, which then becomes the Cerro Grande Fire. The Burn Boss then assumes responsibility for the fire as the Incident Commander and additional resources are ordered. Efforts then focus on suppressing the wildfire.

The Baca Ranch (currently referred to as the Valles Caldera Trust) is located northwest of Cerro Grande Peak with the boundary located in the saddle west of the peak. This first stand is accessed from the parking area by hiking directly up Frijoles Canyon.

The Cerro Grande Fire began as the Upper Frijoles Prescribed Burn on the Bandelier National Monument. It escaped prescription on May 5, 2000, and became known as the Cerro Grande Fire due to the fire being on Cerro Grande Mountain, a prominent geographic feature of the area.

Just as with Purdy's squad below, the situation with Sheakley's squad changed dramatically with the increased fire intensity. Sheakley instructed his squad to drop back off their line. They moved a short distance down the ridge to the east with Sheakley calling out instructions. They were separated briefly, but Sheakley was able to gather them back together and line them out in an orderly fashion. They ran along in a single file along the ridge for about 330 feet to a point where they could come down off the rocks.

As the helicopter lifted off at 1450, the fire suddenly intensified along the entire length of the line. Helicopter Foreman Black, recognized the change in fire behavior and notified those with radios.

Hatch had also noted the change in fire behavior as he saw it moving into heavier fuels near the ridge top. He radioed to Sheakley, but his message was not understood, so Sheakley came off the ridge where he could talk directly to Hatch. The two felt they could be successful in tying their two lines together to cut off the head of the fire.

At 1400, Hodgkinson, Jenkins, and Coleman arrived at the fireline to tie in with Hatch's squad while retardant was being placed on the fire. Hatch felt they were needed in Sheakley's squad; so, he sent them up to tie in with Sheakley, who now had a total of six personnel plus himself. During this time, Dave Noel was organizing crews at Cedar Springs Lagoon. Noel, Ray Purdy, Geary Searfoss, and Darrell Parks were all shuttled in on the first load into H-2, followed by Dave Simpsom, J. Martin, Pat Crevelt, and Carel Jackson.

When the first firefighters arrived, the fire was about 1 ½ -acres in size and was centered in Stand 2's general location. The fire was spreading slowly uphill against the wind and moderately in all other directions. The head of the fire was possibly along the north side spreading toward the confluence of Cart and Spruce Creeks. Hatch took two firefighters with him and walked partway up the slope to a point near the origin of the fire and began building a fireline along the edge of the fire uphill to the west.