KEARNY, AZ — Evacuations in Kearney area for the Simmons Fire have been lifted.
Kearny is located in Pinal County along State Route 177, between Globe and Tucson.
The wildfire sparked on Tuesday and has since grown to 351 acres with 90% containment as of Sunday morning.
The fire was estimated to have burned more than 400 acres on Wednesday, but fire officials say it has since decreased due to more accurate mapping of the area.
Officials say five structures are damaged and four structures have been destroyed.
Fire officials gave an update on the fire Wednesday morning:
All SET and GO evacuations statuses were lifted for the fire Friday morning, according to Department of Forest and Fire Management officials.
On Wednesday, officials announced that the Federal Emergency Management Agency authorized the use of federal funds to help the state combat the fire.
🚨 Just in: We authorized federal funds to assist Arizona in combating the Simmons Fire in Pinal County. The fire, which started on May 28, threatens 57 homes, businesses, schools, and vital infrastructure.
— FEMA Region 9 (@FEMARegion9) May 29, 2024
More info: https://t.co/ibmRMtoRsB#SimmonsFire #Arizona #Kearney #AZFire pic.twitter.com/h9DbROdz9e
Officials tell ABC15 that the incident response team believes this fire was human-caused.
Early in the fight, fire officials noted that the wind-driven fire was active and burning through dry fuels, including grass and brush and is pushing to the southeast.
Power has been turned off to the north end of Kearny.
SR 177 was closed in both directions between mileposts 153 (Florence-Kelvin Hwy) and milepost 147, just north of Kearny, but has since reopened.
ABC15 is working to get more information and will bring you the latest on this developing story.
