Pocket Fire grows to 6,000+ acres as winds complicate firefighting efforts
Pocket Fire grows to 6,000 acres near Sedona
The Pocket Fire has grown to over 6,000 acres, triggering voluntary evacuations for multiple northern Arizona communities. FOX 10's Andrew Christiansen reports.
COCONINO COUNTY, Ariz. - The Pocket Fire seven miles north of Sedona is growing, and because of that, a few areas in northern Arizona are being asked by officials to voluntarily evacuate.
A lot has changed with the fire recently. The smoke, which was previously barely visible, can now be seen very clearly, resembling a large cloud in the area.
The Latest:
On Sunday, June 28, officials stated the fire is at more than 6,000 acres. Some areas are in SET status where people are being asked to voluntarily evacuate, or at the very least, be ready to leave.
The areas that are also in set status are Kachina Village, Forest Highlands, Oak Creek Canyon, and Pine Del 99.
Officials are still looking into what caused the fire. However, they do know what caused it to expand.
Multiple spot fires north of Woody Mountain Road combined, expanding the fire 3,200 acres to the north. That changed the evacuation status of Kachina Village and Forest Highlands. Now crews are building defensible space around those areas, but the weather is complicating that effort and the fire fight in general.
Dig deeper:
"We had a big blow yesterday, so that actually makes it burn hotter and actually our spot distance goes farther, so you combine that with low relative humidity and then also our dead fuels because we had very little snow," said Dick Fleischman, public information officer for the Southwest Area Complex Incident Management Team 2. "Our fire managers are very experienced, and they say this is probably the most complex fire they’ve been on."
For those sensitive to the air quality, officials say the western and northern parts of Flagstaff, and areas along State Route 180 between Flagstaff and Fort Valley, are unhealthy for sensitive groups.
Smoke fills the sky in Arizona's Coconino County on June 28, 2026, as the Pocket Fire burns just miles from Sedona.
In Kachina Village, officials say the air quality is good but could become unhealthy for sensitive groups.
Because of this fire, there is a temporary flight restriction at the Flagstaff Pulliam Airport. Earlier in the day, one flight was canceled and another was delayed, so individuals planning on flying out of there should check their flight status.
What they're saying:
"We packed up all the important stuff and ready to pull out if we needed to," said Holly Bowers, who lives in Kachina Village. "I have my trees all trimmed up to a fire height level where the branches won’t catch if the ground catches on fire."
People that were put in the SET status are voluntarily leaving or getting ready to leave. They say it's better to leave safe than risk it.
"I was planning on moving already, so I had a lot of my stuff in boxes, but as soon as I heard the fire was here, I got all that stuff out of my house," said Kachina Village resident Tobias Hatcher. "You just have to go. Absolutely. That’s it. Take it serious."
Pocket Fire has residents preparing to evacuate as blaze grows
Sedona area residents are preparing to evacuate as Northen Arizona's Pocket Fire doubles in size over the weekend. FOX 10's Andrew Christiansen reports.