Evacuation levels lowered as containment increases on the Horton Fire

The Horton Fire is now 75% contained after diligent work from fire crews over the past several weeks. Fire crews continue to patrol and monitor the area and address interior hot-spots while enhancing containment along the SR-260 corridor. With the increase of containment, all communities in the area have been downgraded to READY status. The Southwest Complex Incident Management Team 1 will be handing management of this fire back too the Tonto National Forest on Monday, January 13. Last night’s community meeting is available to view on the Tonto National Forest Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/TontoNationalForest

Operations: Backhaul was completed yesterday in the Tonto Creek Estates area and will continue in surrounding areas today. As operations downsize, firefighters will continue to patrol and monitor the Horton Creek Fire while working on additional containment priorities. Crews are also beginning to focus on suppression repair to restore fire effected areas to a more natural state. Firefighters will continue to look for and address any hotspots that can threaten the integrity of containment lines to keep the fire within its current footprint.

Weather: Light winds, and slightly warmer temperatures will contribute to drier conditions this weekend.

Smoke: Smoke will continue to be visible in the area as pockets of vegetation burn well within the interior of the fire footprint. For more information visit https://outlooks.wildlandfiresmoke.net/outlook/.

TFR: A Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR 5/1983) is in place for the Horton Fire through January 31. More information is available at https://tfr.faa.gov/save_pages/detail_5_1983.html. Intruding the flight restriction area puts firefighter safety and operations at risk.

Evacuations, Road Closures and Forest Orders: As of January 10, 2025, all communities have returned to the READY evacuation status. The health and safety of firefighters and the public are always the priority. Members of the public are asked to avoid the area. Visit https://www.facebook.com/GCPHCS/ for more information on evacuation notifications.

A Forest closure order is in effect to protect public health and safety during the Horton Fire as well as protecting firefighting personnel engaging in wildland firefighting operations. More information can be found at https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/tonto/alerts-notices.

Smoke continues to be seen along the SR-260 corridor, and lane closures may occur if needed, in the interest of safety. Travelers are encouraged to monitor roadway status and conditions via AZ Department of Transportation at https://www.az511.com/.

Fire details

• Acres: 8,337
• Location: Payson Ranger District, Arizona 
• Personnel: 381
• Containment: 75%
• Resources: 3 crews | 22 engines | 1 helicopters | 1 bulldozers | 2 water tenders
• Start Date: December 14, 2024
• Cause: Under Investigation
• Fuels: Timber, chaparral

Fire information     

• Phone Number: 602-551-7327 (8 a.m. - 8 p.m.)
• Email: [email protected]
• Inciweb: https://inciweb.wildfire.gov/incident-information/aztnf-horton-fire-2024  
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TontoNationalForest