Crews gain containment for Pius Fire northeast of Payson, but evacuation orders remain

PHOENIX – Evacuation orders for the Pius Fire in northern Arizona remained in effect Friday morning, but crews were gaining containment of the incident.

The fire’s footprint was measured at 2,010 acres with 28% containment, according to the latest incident command report.

It was about the same size with no containment on Thursday, and no further growth is expected.

The Pius Fire started 20 miles northeast of Payson around 12:30 p.m. Monday. The cause is undetermined.

On Monday night, the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office put areas around Bear Canyon Lake in Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest and Knoll Lake in Coconino National Forest into the “GO” evacuation status.

The Knoll Lake status moved to “SET” on Tuesday, but evacuations are still in effect for all areas south of Forest Road 225, west of FR 34, north of FR 300 and east of FR 115, including the Bear Canyon Lake campground.

According to Friday morning’s incident report, 335 personnel were assigned to battle the wildfire, with four engines, two helicopters and six water tenders.

Powerlines that supply electricity to metro Phoenix are located about 3.5 miles southeast of the wildfire.

This is an updated version of a story originally published July 9, 2024.

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