Greer Fire: The latest on the Arizona wildfire burning in the path of the Wallow Fire

Arizona fire officials say the blaze is 88% percent contained and has burned 20,308 acres as of Wednesday.

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Fire crews working on the Greer Fire in Eastern Arizona told evacuated residents they could return to their homes last night.

At a public meeting, Paul Hancock with the Forest Service told residents that a small risk still remains, but at 39% containment on 20,324 acres, fire crews felt comfortable letting people back into their homes in the Greer, Eager and South Fork areas.

"We’re pretty comfortable that the edge, the lines, are going to hold, and the fire is not going to expand from its current footprint. So I’m here to tell you that we do not believe that the fire is going to grow," Hancock said.

After a weekend of high winds and Red Flag conditions, fire officials said a high pressure system is causing winds to die down until next weekend, allowing crews to gain progress.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

The Greer Fire has burned more than 20,000 acres in eastern Arizona. Crews now have 39% of the fire contained, after sitting at zero since it first sparked about a week ago.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

The fire’s growth has been wind-driven, which officials say made it difficult to not only make containment lines but secure them enough to report accurately.

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Tiffany Davila with the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management says the red-flag warning conditions have made the fight more challenging.

“Red flag warnings are issued when there’s a combination of low relative humidity levels and high winds, drought succumb fuel and oftentimes warm temperatures. So really relative humidity levels and wind, those play a major factor into ignition and rate of spread on a fire," Davila said.

The Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests has closed certain parts of its lands.

Officials will hold a community meeting at Round Valley High School Auditorium at 6 p.m. Monday.

The Greer Fire in Apache County is continuing to grow despite efforts by fire crews. The fire has burned more than 20,000 acres and was zero percent contained as on Sunday night.

More than 700 people have been assigned to the fire, but weather conditions are making it difficult for officials to address the blaze.

Tiffany Davila is with the Department of Forestry and Fire Management.

“Winds are always a problem. We can't fight Mother Nature. We had 65 mile per hour gusts the day this fire started and we've been challenged with winds ever since," she said.

Davila says GO and SET evacuation statuses remain in place.

Officials will hold a community meeting at Round Valley High School Auditorium at 6 p.m. Monday.

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Gov. Katie Hobbs has declared a state of emergency in Apache County over the Greer Fire.

The blaze has covered more than 15,000 acres of land, damaged infrastructure, and prompted evacuations.

The declaration makes state resources and funding available to support local wildfire response and recovery efforts.

In her declaration, Governor Hobbs directed $200,000 from the Governor’s Emergency Fund to be made available to the Director of the Arizona Division of Emergency Management to bolster the state’s response to the fire.

She also ordered that the State of Arizona Emergency Response and Recovery Plan be used to direct assets and authorized the Director of the Arizona Division of Emergency Management to lead coordination.

The fire started on May 13 and spread rapidly due to high winds. More than 500 firefighters and supportive personnel are working to suppress it.

In a statement, Hobbs said “I am grateful to the firefighters and first responders who are working around the clock to keep communities safe, and I will continue to do everything in my power to help them fight this terrible fire.”

The Complex Incident Management Team has assumed command of the Greer Fire response to enhance federal, state, and local coordination. The State of Arizona has also secured Fire Management Assistance Grant funding from FEMA to help ensure state and local first responders have the support they need to respond to community needs.

After burning more than 12,500 acres since Tuesday, the Greer Fire in northeastern Arizona is still at zero percent containment.

“Our resources are working 24/7, literally,” said Tiffany Davila with the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management. “We have day shift, night shift operations. But the wind, the topography, the drought-stricken fuel has really been a challenge on this fire fight.”

Davila explained that with slightly less wind, renewed efforts are crucial in getting it under control, especially with another fire weather watch planned for the weekend that she said could easily turn into another Red Flag warning.

Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management

State Route 260 is closed in both directions near Greer and the southbound highway heading into the community is also shut down due to the fire, with no word on when either will reopen, according to state officials.

“They’re gonna try and establish some dozer line between the head of the fire and the community of Eagar,” according to Davila. “The fire is wanting to move to the east – northeast, it keeps hooking around on that side.”

She said that crews had hoped the scar left by the Wallow Fire more than a decade ago would hold it back. But it still broke through.

“Overnight, they made significant progress,” Davila said. “The northwest flank of the fire is looking really good. The area in Greer, which is the heel of the fire, is also looking very good. The lines in that area continue to hold.”

Davila said evacuation centers remain open at the Apache County Fairgrounds and the Round Valley Rodeo Ground.

Read all of our previous coverage of the Greer Fire.