'Prepare Now, Not Later': Arizona Lawmakers Warn Residents as Sedona Fire Spreads

As the Pocket Fire north of Sedona more than doubled in size overnight, State Representatives Quang Nguyen (R-AZ) and Selina Bliss (R-AZ) weren't waiting for updates from afar; they went to the fire themselves.

Nguyen and Bliss made their way to the Sedona Airport air operations base Sunday to sit down with fire managers overseeing one of the most active blazes in the state. The fire, which was first spotted June 19, roughly seven miles north of Sedona, had grown to more than 5,500 acres by Sunday morning, with nearly 900 personnel working to contain it.

Unfortunately, powerful winds overnight pushed the fire northeast through terrain so steep and broken that crews cannot safely fight it head-on in many areas.

With the fire's direction shifting, resources were repositioned to protect nearby neighborhoods. Heavy machinery was brought in to carve out defensive lines around vulnerable areas.

To add to this, several communities remained on alert Sunday afternoon, including Oak Creek Canyon Zones 14 and 15, Kachina Village, and Forest Highlands. A stretch of State Route 89A was also off-limits to anyone without local access.

Seeing the Fire for Themselves

For Nguyen, showing up in person was an obligation.

"This is our district, and we have a duty to know where the threat is moving, what crews need and whether the state can do more," he said. "We came to hear directly from incident command and see the operation firsthand. The men and women fighting this fire are working in dangerous conditions, and we stand ready to help secure any state resources they need."

Bliss therefore focused her message squarely on the people living in the fire's path.

"SET means prepare now, not later," she said. "Pack medications, important documents and supplies. Account for family members and pets. Know where you will go, monitor official alerts and leave immediately if ordered. Do not wait for GO status to start preparing."

Both lawmakers also took a moment to honor three federal firefighters who died Saturday in a burnover incident on fires burning near the Colorado-Utah border.

The losses landed with particular weight, as Sunday fell just days after the anniversaries of two of Arizona's most devastating wildfire tragedies, the 1990 Dude Fire and the 2013 Yarnell Hill Fire, which together claimed 25 lives.