Tunnel Fire and Crooks Fire updates

FLAGSTAFF/PRESCOTT — The Tunnel Fire in Flagstaff has grown to over 16,000 acres and a Type 1 Incident Management Team has been ordered and is scheduled to arrive Thursday. High winds have grounded air resources which are unable to fly due to wind thresholds for aircraft during firefighting operations.

Some structures have been lost. Unofficial reports are some houses are lost. Some reports are that the fire acted so swiftly that some animals were spooked and have been lost.

Coconino County Emergency Management has set up a call center for evacuees at 928-679-8525.

The Crooks Fire 11 miles south of Prescott Arizona is now 1600 Acres.

The restricted area for the fire consists of all National Forest System lands, waters, roads, and trails within the boundary starting at the intersection of State Route 89 and the National Forest (NF) boundary, proceeding east along the NF boundary for approximately 10 miles, then following the NF boundary south for approximately 6 miles, then following the NF boundary east for approximately 2 miles, then following the NF boundary south for approximately 6 miles, then following the NF boundary for approximately 1 mile to the junction with County Road 177, then following County Road 177 for approximately 10 miles to the intersection with Forest Road (FR) 52, then following FR 52 south for approximately 3 miles to the intersection with Forest Trail (FT) 275, then following FT 275 west for approximately 4 miles to the intersection with FR 82A, then following FR 82A southwest for approximately 5 miles to the intersection with FR 94, then following FR 94 northwest for approximately 3 miles to the junction with the NF boundary, then following the NF boundary north for 1 mile, then following the NF boundary west for 4 miles, then following the NF boundary north for approximately 5 ½ miles to the intersection with State Route 89, then following the eastside of State Route 89 northeast for approximately 13 miles back to the point of beginning at State Route 89 and the junction of the NF boundary. State Route 89 remains open.

A Community Meeting for the Crooks Fire will be held on Wednesday, April 20, 2022 at 6:30 pm at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, 3700 Willow Creek Dr. Prescott, AZ

The meeting will be live streamed to the Prescott National Forest Facebook and you do NOT need an account to watch. If you are unable to attend, the recording will be available to view afterwards at https://www.facebook.com/PrescottNF . ASL Interpreter and Closed Captioning services will be provided.

Firefighters Respond to Wildfire South of Prescott near Mt Union

PRESCOTT — At approximately 10:00 AM on Monday, April 18, 2022, resources from Prescott National Forest responded to a reported wildfire south of Prescott near Mt Union. The Crooks fire is burning through brush, ponderosa pine and mixed conifer. Local resources including aircraft have been working throughout the day in rugged terrain identifying hazards and scouting control feature as the begin to suppress the fire. Resources including crews, engines and aircraft are on scene and have been ordered. Smoke may be visible from multiple locations including Chino Valley, Mayer, and Prescott Valley.

Road closures include Goodwin Road – Crown King to Senator Highway; Walker Road is blocked at Senator Hwy, Lower Wolf Creek Road is closed at Senator Hwy and Big Bug Mesa Road is closed at Goodwin Road. As a reminder to the public, with the increased fire vehicles in the area, for public and firefighter safety people should not travel into any of the fire area.

The cause of the 500-acre fire is still under investigation.

The Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office has issued a mandatory evacuation for residents located near Mt. Union and Camp Kippa. For more information visit: https://ein.az.gov/ready-set-go.