On Sunday, firefighters arrived about 7 miles away from Crown King to battle the Horse Fire that has led to evacuations in small mountain communities 80 miles north of Phoenix.  

Prescott National Forest spokesperson Debbie Maneely says resources that are needed to combat the fire may stretch beyond local authorities.

“We have the community of Crown King which has been evacuated. We have communication sites. There’s a lot of areas at risk, and we need those special skills that maybe we don’t have at the local level," Maneely said. 

The fire is burning nearly 9,000 acres and is only 21% contained.