The Spur Fire has destroyed at least a dozen homes in a remote Arizona mining town, but ground crews managed to halt its advance with assistance from aircraft dropping water and fire retardant. The blaze is 150 acres in size and about 25% contained.
The fire started Thursday afternoon in the community of Bagdad about 100 miles northwest of Phoenix.
Crews have made progress on containment and are now monitoring for any interior hotspots.
Tiffany Davila, public affairs officer for the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management, says while the evacuation order is still in place, they are working with public safety agencies and utility companies to prepare to repopulate the town.
“They are starting to let some people whose homes were destroyed or damaged come back to assess their property,” she said.
Davila said there was no weather in the area that could have produced a lightning strike, so an investigation into the fire has been turned over to the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office.
