Sedona

Scientists with the Burned Area Emergency Response Team say the 27,000-acre Pocket Fire has increased the risk of flash flooding but mostly burned at a low intensity.

Monsoon rains have created new hazards for areas and communities that were threatened by the Pocket Fire.

The stretch of State Route 89A between Sedona and Interstate 17 near Flagstaff reopened Monday as crews begin cleanup from the Pocket Fire.

In recent days a flight restriction for the Pocket Fire has forced officials to cancel several flights at the Flagstaff Pulliam Airport.

Fire officials say the Pocket Fire’s heavy smoke that’s inundated Flagstaff has also helped moderate fire behavior as it drifts over the blaze.

Fire managers attribute most of the overnight growth to a strategic burnout operation carried out around Fernow Cabin on the western flank of the Pocket Fire.

The fire grew over 5,500 acres overnight. A spokesperson for the team managing the blaze says he hopes it will be easier to fight in the flatter terrain south of Kachina Village and Forest Highlands.

Firefighters continued burning forest land northwest of the Pocket Fire in preparation for high winds expected to begin on Friday. Fire managers are holding an event on the fire in Flagstaff at Sinagua Middle School at 7 p.m. tonight.

The Pocket Fire north of Sedona grew to more than 784 acres and it’s 0% contained.

The Pocket Fire burning north of Sedona reached 638 acres as of Tuesday afternoon and is still 0% contained.