Authorities lift final evacuation order for Crooks Fire near Prescott

PHOENIX – Authorities lifted the final evacuation order related to the Crooks Fire on Wednesday, more than two weeks after the blaze broke out near Prescott.

The Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office deemed Lookout Mountain safe for return starting at 9 a.m. Residents were asked to show proof of ownership at the roadblock at Senator Highway and Wiggler Road before going to their properties.

A section of Prescott National Forest, including several recreation sites and trails, in the fire area remains closed.

The Crooks Fire started about 11 miles south of Prescott, near Mount Union, on April 18. By the next day, multiple communities had been placed in the “GO” status of the emergency response system.

The fire went on to consume 9,402 acres (14.7 square miles), but the size hasn’t changed since the weekend. Wednesday morning’s incident report said containment was up 89%.

With containment growing, incident managers have been releasing personnel to rest and get ready for the next fire. Staffing was at 612 personnel as of Wednesday morning, down from 889 in four days earlier.

Investigators still haven’t determined how the blaze started.

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