Crooks fire at 3,091 acres with 15% containment

The Crooks Fire, burning 10 miles south of Prescott, has grown to 3,091 acres as of Sunday morning, with 15% containment.

Yesterday, drier fuels with lower humidity led to increased fire activity on the southwest flank, creating a large smoke plume visible from Prescott and the surrounding communities.

Helicopters and air tankers dropped water and retardant which assisted firefighters in slowing fire growth on the southwest side near Ash Creek drainage.

The fire was moderately active, burning surface fuels in the vicinity of Yankee Doodle Peak. Firefighters continued to mop up (making sure the fire is out by dousing hot spots with water) from Mt. Union around the northeast edge of the fire to Moscow Peak.

Today’s priorities will be to continue to establish control lines in the southwest section of the fire on Ash Creek Ridge. Aircraft will be active again in this part of the fire to assist in slowing the fire’s spread to the west. The northern and eastern flanks will remain in patrol status as crews will continue to mop up and strengthen the line up to Mt. Union.

There will be a community meeting tonight, April 24, at 6 p.m., at Embry Riddle University in “The Hanger,” 3700 Willow Creek Drive Prescott. The meeting will be live-streamed to the Prescott National Forest Facebook page. If you are unable to attend, the recording will be available to view afterward, visit: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzbIoBB-yAclQO_Hz0hBMQQ or https://www.facebook.com/PrescottNF.

RESOURCES ASSIGNED: 6 - Type 1 Hotshot crews, 4 - Type 2 Hand crews, 29 - Engines, 11 - Helicopters, Miscellaneous Equipment and Overhead.

WEATHER: Dry conditions will persist over the fire, with afternoon humidity dipping below 20%. Winds will be out of the north and northwest with gusts up to 15 mph. The warming and drying trend will continue today through Monday. The north winds will switch to light southeasterly winds, with the humidity possibly only reaching the single digits.

SMOKE INFORMATION: Arizona Smoke Forecasting system information can be located at https://azdeq.gov/wildfireforecast?fire=crooksfire

EVACUATIONS: There is no change to the evacuation status. Information about the current evacuation status can be found on the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Department Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/YavapaiCountySheriff/

FOREST CLOSURE: To provide public health and safety due to firefighting operations and fire danger associated with the uncontrolled Crooks Fire the Prescott National Forest has implemented a fire area emergency closure.

To view the Crooks Fire area closure order and map visit: Prescott National Forest - Alerts & Notices (usda.gov)

Information provided by Prescott National Forest.

RESOURCES

Fire Information: 928-925-1111, from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Email: 2022.Crooks@firenet.gov

Inciweb: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/8067/

Code RED: https://public.coderedweb.com/CNE/en-US/A45C10E5EC0F?fbclid=IwAR1SYjO7ZiXpsORXlVyZf3j1TMvmWvJLRIA7Xvh6lXbj9kpth8z_ZM7rMcM

Prescott NF Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PrescottNF

Prescott NF Twitter: https://twitter.com/PrescottNF

Prescott National Forest: https://www.fs.usda.gov/prescott/

Prescott Area Wildland Urban Interface Commission: yavapaifirewise.org

Yavapai County Emergency Management: https://yavapaiaz.gov/publicworks/emergency-management

Arizona Smoke Forecasting system information: https://azdeq.gov/wildfireforecast?fire=crooksfire