Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management

At 7am this morning, the Romero Fire transitioned to a Type 4 Organization. This will be the FINAL Press Release for the Romero Fire. Any future updates will be provided through the incident information sources listed below when significant activity occurs.

At 7am this morning, the Circle Fire transitioned to a Type 4 Organization. This will be the FINAL Press Release for the Circle Fire. Any future updates will be provided through the incident information sources listed below when significant activity occurs.

The fire was discovered Friday, July 19, 2024 with an unknown cause. When it is safe to do so, an investigation will be conducted to determine the cause. The fire is burning in grass and brush to the North of the Freeman Fire that took place last week.

Starting the week of August 12, the Department of Forestry and Fire Management (DFFM) begins a 263-acre fuels reduction project located 9 miles northwest of Prescott and 2 ½ miles southeast of the community of Williamson in Yavapai County. The Granite Oaks project takes place on State Trust land as part of the department’s prioritized community protection through hazardous fuels reduction.

A planned infrared flight over the fire Sunday night was cancelled due to inclement weather. However, Freeman Fire operations flew the fire earlier in the day and prior to storm activity to update acreage and provide additional intelligence to ground operations. The fire was mapped at 32,568 acres. Fire resources have 65% containment on the fire. Containment is along the north, east and southeast flanks of the fire. Those lines continue to hold through wind events. Late Sunday evening a storm system moved through the fire area bringing high winds and some precipitation.

Overnight weather over the last few days remains favorable to firefighters as they work toward full suppression and 100% containment. Cooler temperatures and increased relative humidity levels kept fire activity quiet through the night again. All established containment lines are holding. At 10 am this morning, the GO status will be lifted for the residents of Willow Springs Ranch. All impacted residents will be returned to a READY status. Roads within the fire area remain closed to the public and only accessible to homeowners in the area.

Crews continue to work toward full suppression of the Hillside Fire. The fire is 88% contained with no change in acreage as the fire remains within its footprint. Today resources will patrol and monitor the fire’s edge throughout the day checking to ensure all containment lines are holding and secure and no heat or smokes remain along the fire’s edge and within the interior. Another storm system is forecast forthe fire area today with the possibility of outflow winds.

The fire stayed quiet overnight with the exception of the southwest flank as it continued to burn within pockets of fuels. Engine crews spent the night patrolling and monitoring areas where crews conducted burnout operations earlier in the day. Today, hand crews continue with those operations on the north side as they work ahead of the fire trying to tie in line and ultimately pinch the fire off at Willow Springs and Freeman Roads. Dozer operations also continue on the south side of the fire.

Thursday morning, operations flew the fire’s perimeter and mapped it at 807 acres. The decrease in acreage is due to more accurate mapping. The fire remains active on all sides and continues to push toward the east and the south, burning through steep and rugged terrain in places within a mixed fuel type of grass, brush, and Pinyon-juniper.

Resources working the Ray and Shake Fires near Kearny have stopped both fires’ forward progress and continue efforts toward full suppression and containment. On Tuesday evening, the Ray Fire was estimated at 51 acres with 10% containment. The Shake Fire was estimated at 110 acres  Tuesday with no containment to report. Both fires are located along State Route 177 approximately 1.5 miles northwest of Kearny.