Horse Fire containment at 63%; Crown King evacuation order lifted
No structures damaged or destroyed

The Horse Fire broke out on Oct. 15, near Crown King, Arizona, a town just south of Prescott. Fire officials have determined it was human caused and is under investigation. (U.S. Forest Service)

The Horse Fire broke out on Oct. 15, near Crown King, Arizona, a town just south of Prescott. Fire officials have determined it was human caused and is under investigation. (U.S. Forest Service)

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Firefighters continue to hold the fire to the west of FR 52/Senator Highway and have created contingency fuel breaks around the community of Crown King. Because of these efforts, the fire has not had any growth in the direction of Crown King or Towers Mountain. (PNN map)

UPDATE: 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 23

There has been significant progress in the suppression of the Horse Fire. With 63% containment, the western perimeter is now secure, according to a South West Area Incident Management Team 2 news release Friday, Oct. 23.

Crews successfully extinguished all heat sources on the southern tip and southeastern area. Heavy equipment is being used to improve FSR 58 and FSR 52, making it accessible to emergency vehicles. There is no new growth or movement of the fire.

The only remaining heat and smoke are well within the interior of the northeast corner of the fire, which is inaccessible. Aircraft is being used to monitor the interior pockets of heat which will smolder until a rain/snow-ending event.

With containment up and threats reduced, resources are slowly being released Friday and Saturday. Firefighters will continue to monitor the fire's edge looking for any remaining heat and hazards; and begin to start working on suppression repair such as chipping trees that were cut for firebreaks.

In Crown King, firefighters are breaking down sprinklers and removing equipment as the risk of fire is greatly reduced. No structures are damaged or destroyed.

At 4 pm Friday, YCSO announced that residents only of Crown King and adjacent communities will no longer be under an evacuation order and may return home. The entry point will be through a checkpoint in Cleator. Proof of residency required. Roadblocks in the area will be maintained with expected updates on opening Crown King to the public very soon.

Forest Service Fire closure orders remain in effect. Prescott National Forest also expects updates on the closure status within days. Please monitor their FB page and website for the latest information.

For information or questions on evacuations, please call YCSO at 928-771-3260.

The southern half of the Prescott National Forest remains in an emergency closure. Although deer season opens today, hunters are asked to stay out of the closure area (Game Unit 20A/B). Please call Arizona Game and Fish for more information at 602-942-3000.

ORIGINAL POST

Firefighters slow growth of Horse Fire; prepare for cold front and wind

CROWN KING — Thanks to efforts by firefighters on the ground and in the air, the Horse Fire had little growth over the last few days, according to a South West Area Incident Management Team 2 news release Thursday morning, Oct. 22.

"There was very little growth if any yesterday," said Operations Section Chief Rick Miller during a video update Thursday morning. "There was just a few smoke columns coming out of there and they were all white, which is indicative of just maybe ground fire."

The smoke can be seen on the northeast corner where smoldering continues as heavy dead and down trees continue to burn.

Firefighters continue to hold the fire to the west of FR 52/Senator Highway. Two dozers and a road grader are being used improved FR 52 and have created contingency fuel breaks around the community of Crown King. Crews also continue to provide structure protection for homes in the area, Miller said. Because of these efforts, the fire has not had any growth in the direction of Crown King or Towers Mountain.

Firefighters are strengthening firelines and extinguishing hotspots along the southern tip and eastern side of the fire. The west side of the fire is secured. Crews are also working the north end of the fire in preparation of the upcoming weather changes and the possibility that the fire could start moving north, Miller said. High temperatures will drop at least 15 degrees in the coming days and through the weekend until Monday. There is a chance of light showers on Sunday or Monday and potential for snow above 6,000 feet.

Minimal fire activity is expected as the cold front moves in but it will bring increased winds each day, with gusts up to 35 miles per hour by Saturday.

Colder temperatures and higher humidity decrease chances of fire spread in fine, grass vegetation; however, heat remains on the north and northeastern side where dry and dead timber continues to burn. The fire will smolder, and smoke will be seen in those areas as pockets of interior vegetation continues to burn.

Pointing to past fire areas on a map, Miller explained that "We are really strategically going to take advantage of some of these old fire scars that are out there that will not support fires. So we are going to herd it into some of these other fire scars if the fire continues to move to the north."

AT-A-GLANCE

Acres: 9,536 acres

Containment: 32%

Resources: 368

Vegetation: Juniper, chaparral and timber

Start Date: Oct. 15, 2020, around noon

Cause: Human, under investigation

Origin Location: Seven miles northwest of Crown King; 18 miles south of Prescott on the Bradshaw Ranger District (T1N, R2W, S24)

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Horse Fire, Oct. 22, 2020, map. (South West Area Incident Management Team 2)

The sources with the most up-to-date and accurate information on the Horse Fire are:

• The Yavapai County Emergency Phone Bank: 928-442-5103. Open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

• InciWeb: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/7244

• U.S. Forest Service - Prescott National Forest’s Twitter page, https://twitter.com/PrescottNF and Facebook, facebook.com/PrescottNF

• Yavapai County Emergency Management Facebook page, facebook.com/YCOEM/

• For those without Facebook access, you can visit the Yavapai County Public Works website to see the information feed regarding the fire, yavapai.us/publicworks/emergency-management

• Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page, facebook.com/YavapaiCountySheriff


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