Crooks Fire Grows To Over 9,000 Acres And Is 23-Percent Contained

The Crooks Fire has burned 9,014 acres and is 23-percent contained. The area around the fire has been closed. Tactical objectives for Wednesday were to improve upon containment efforts made to the north and east. In addition, ground crews with support of dozers and aircraft, will perform direct and indirect actions south of Lookout Mountain and along Forest Service Road 81. Remaining firefighters will continue structure protection and be available for deployment to any area of need. An additional Helitack base has been established which will provide for faster turnaround times and increased support of ground crews on the south end of the fire. Over 800 firefighters are working on the fire, that has now cost just over nine-million dollars. A community meeting is scheduled for tonight at Embry Riddle University. The meeting starts at 6 p.m. If you can’t attend, it will be streamed live on the Prescott National Forest’s Facebook page.