Fire crews are still working on containing a wildfire that has grown to more than 700 acres near Yarnell, Arizona Wednesday evening, officials said.
Advertisement
About 250 to 300 residents left their homes but Williams say the evacuation order could be lifted as early as Thursday afternoon if favorable conditions continue. Fire managers say crews have made progress fighting the Tenderfoot Fire, and now have it 10 percent contained.
Dolores Garcia, a spokeswoman for the Bureau of Land Management, said there was no lightning in the Yarnell area Wednesday and the cause of the fire was under investigation.
The fire appeared to move northeast, burning up-slope just east and away from the town, on the opposite side of SR 89.
The blaze, called the Tenderfoot Fire, was burning off State Route 89.
Authorities ordered additional evacuations Thursday, including about 30 homes in the Peeples Valley Area, as they feared the fire might make its way down to Highway 89.
Hundreds of Yarnell residents were evacuated Wednesday, with several in nearby Peeple’s Valley being moved out Thursday.
Fire crews from multiple agencies are battling the fire, including those from the U.S. Forest Service, Arizona Bureau of Land Management, the Yarnell Fire Department and the Congress Fire Department.
The fire was on the opposite side of town as the lethal 2013 fire that claimed the lives of 19 Prescott firefighters trying to move through thick brush to get to a position where they could save the unincorporated community. They were supported by fire engines, air tankers and helicopters.
American Red Cross volunteers were expected to open an evacuation center by 6 p.m.at Yavapai College in Prescott. “I’m guessing there will be plenty of people saying, ‘I’m not going to go back.’ It’s so hard”.
Garcia said that three structures have burned down but no homes have been affected.
Helicopters were dipping in small ponds in the area Thursday, filling up with water and dumping it on the flames along the ridge tops.
Advertisement
Florman and her husband, Kurt, lost their home in the 2013 fire and have since purchased another home in town.
