Firefighters have stopped forward progress of the Watermelon Fire near milepost 303 and are working toward containment of what is now a 25-30 acre wildfire.
North and southbound traffic on I-17 near the wildfire has been stopped, and motorists planning to use I-17 in that area should check https://az511.gov regularly for updates on the status of the interstate.
This will be the final update on the Watermelon Fire unless new and significant information develops.
Today, firefighters focus their efforts on getting containment line around the northern and northeastern flanks, and the last remaining, unsecured section of the fire. Engine crews continue to patrol and monitor the fire, checking for any hotspots or interior smokes that still remain. As a few pockets of interior fuel continue to burn, some smoke may be visible to areas within the vicinity of the fire.
This morning, the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management transitioned the fire to a DFFM Type 4 Incident
Commander and started the process of releasing resources to...
Beginning at 8 a.m., today, Thursday, May 26, 2022 Stage 2 Fire, Smoking and Recreational Shooting Restrictions took effect on the entire Prescott National Forest. Stage 2 Fire Restrictions extend fire and smoking restrictions to include developed recreation sites.
Fire officials use several criteria to determine when to modify fire restrictions including current and predicted weather, fuel moistures, fire activity, and available firefighting resources. These restrictions reduce the risk...
Firefighters continue working through the day and overnight doing hand line construction around the fire to keep it within its current footprint. Milder and favorable weather has been assisting in those suppression efforts and allowed firefighters to stop the fire’s forward progress Wednesday night. Five hand crews assigned have containment increased to 30% along the western flank of the fire, just east of the community of Elgin. Crews are also cold trailing the fire to ensure no heat remains along the fire line. Engines are assigned to patrol the perimeter of the fire and monitor for any ...
The Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) Team has completed the post-fire assessment on the Crooks Fire which is now 96% contained and have concluded the area affected by the fire does pose post fire risks to public safety. High and moderate burn severity areas pose the greatest risk and are potential sources of unstable soils and rock, falling trees and increased flooding. Public hazards have been identified within the fire footprint and downstream of the fire scar. Post-fire hazards are of particular concern during summer monsoon events.
BAER teams focus on emergency actions...
