Crown-King News

Residents of Crown King slowly began resuming their lives over the weekend as flames from the largest wildfire currently burning in Arizona retreated from the tiny community.

With the Gladiator Fire now at 45 percent containment, and residents returning to their homes.

The search continues for Rockey Marquez , a fugitive who walked out of Maricopa County Jail using another inmate's identification.

CROWN KING, Ariz. -- Fire crews battling the Gladiator Fire have been receiving help from the weather over the past couple of days.

CROWN KING, Ariz. -- After almost two weeks, Crown King residents who have been nervously tracking the Gladiator Fire are being allowed to return to their homes.

"Ensure extreme care when visiting public lands," Gladiator Fire information officer Sandra Lopez said.

Smoke rising from the Gladiator Fire is seen from Spring Valley this past week. Smoke from the now 14,000-acre fire was particularly thick Sunday along the Highway 69 Corridor.

A local dentist and a well-prepared passerby helped firefighters extinguish a potentially dangerous wildfire in the heart of Prescott Tuesday that might have been ignited by illegal fireworks.

The north and east sides of the fire experienced little activity. Western portions near Towers Mountain were much more active with the fire backing down a slope towards the Senator Highway.

CROWN KING, Ariz. -- The Gladiator Fire has grown by 1,000 acres and claimed two more structures as it made its way closer and closer to essential communications towers in Crown King.

Crown King town resident William Tiffany was arrested by the Yavapai County Sheriff's Office on Monday evening for disobeying a lawful order involving a fire scene.

United States Forest Service/Courtesy photo The U.S. Forest Service provided this aerial view of the Gladiator Fire Monday.

Six structures have been lost in a 14,000-acre wildfire north of Phoenix. Fire information officer Dan Bastion says crews reported Monday that two more structures had been destroyed by the Gladiator Fire, up from four last week.

Crown King is a small village, a "living ghost town," in the Bradshaw Mountains about 85 miles north of Phoenix, Arizona.

CROWN KING, Ariz. -- The Gladiator Fire is still threatening Crown King homes, but fire managers say they expect to make progress in their battle with the week-old wildfire.

Tom Tingle/The Associated Press Thanks to calmer winds, fire crews on Saturday were able to strengthen their hold on the 10 percent of the 14,000-acre blaze they have already contained.

An Evacuation Order remains in effect for the community of Crown King. The town of Pine Flats has also been evacuated.

Most of Arizona's forests south of the Mogollon Rim are in tinderbox conditions and area above is trending that way every day the temperature and winds remain high and the humidity low.

A wildfire that sparked in the historic mining town of Crown King is spreading north toward three smaller northern Arizona communities.

Smoke from the Gladiator Fire near Crown King has reduced visibility on State Route 69 west of Cordes Junction , according to the Arizona Department of Transportation.