The Pocket Fire near Sedona is now more than 70% contained. Much of Sedona is open for business. But some are still coping with the blaze.
Jenny Kittredge is the owner manager at Forest Houses Resort in Oak Creek Canyon — about 10 miles north of Sedona. She says they’ve been closed since June 19 due to the Pocket Fire.
“So, usually we are close to 100% occupancy right now, but because of the fire, we have had no guess for three weeks and no income, and it's been really, really tough on the business,” she said.
Forest Houses Resort is a family business, but this fire has had a ripple effect: Kittredge says they employ about a dozen staff.
“It's been really tough to see them go through this time of uncertainty. A lot of them don't know if they're going to be able to pay rent, they just don't know what to do," Kittredge said.
So the focus has been making payroll. But it’s not just her business that’s been affected by the Pocket Fire.
"Other business owners I've talked to in Sedona and Flagstaff are also really struggling," she said. "Even though those communities that are open right now, it's been extremely devastating to the business.”
The message from David Key, the president and CEO of the Greater Sedona Chamber of Commerce, is that Sedona is safe, “and that's why we are inviting folks to Sedona."
“You can be in uptown Sedona, you can be at Tlaquepaque, you can be in West Sedona or Hillside, and you are safe. And you want to monitor those smoke conditions if you have a health condition," Key said.
He says all of Sedona’s trails are also open.
As for Kittredge, she’s hoping to get the OK from fire officials to reopen soon.
-
In 2020, the Arizona monsoon season turned deadly when a powerful storm hit Apache Lake. The deluge took two lives that day: Deanna Peterson and Rick Le Grand. Ryan Schuster was there when it happened and is out now with a new book about the tragedy. -
The social media world of influencers promoting the great outdoors is vast. They camp, they hike — and they make it all look idyllic on Instagram. Lauren and Owen Steinwall certainly do all of that. But, they also are willing to show the not-so-glamorous side of the outdoors in Arizona. -
For the first time, the United States Forest Service authorized the use of N95 respirators for federal wildland firefighters. -
As wildfires are burning across the country, Flagstaff officials are looking to prevent catastrophic damage from happening here. How do they do it? By cutting down trees. A lot of them. -
Thompson says the closure is scheduled to continue through the end of September. The Pocket Fire has burned more than 27,000 acres.
