The Horton Fire is spreading to more than 7,000 acres and is 19% contained

GILA COUNTY, AZ – The Horton Fire northeast of Payson has been burning for more than two weeks and is now burning more than 7,000 acres.

Neighbors in the small towns along Tonto Creek have begun evacuating ahead of the strong winds expected Wednesday.

“We taped up our windows, we put wet towels along the doors, we tried everything, but we woke up in the middle of the night last night and our bedroom was literally filled with smoke,” said Gaylin Weber of Kohl’s Ranch. “It’s very scary and uncomfortable and we just thought, okay this is it, we need to breathe, we need to sleep, we’re out of here.”

Jayson Coil, operations section chief for the Horton Fire, shared an update Tuesday that the fire is 19% contained.

“The winds that are expected to start later tonight and peak tomorrow (Wednesday) are part of one of three low pressure systems that are going to affect us. If the wind modeling is right, those winds out of the northeast will come down and there are areas along Highway 260 where those winds are going to hit 50-60 mph.”

The Forest Service has nearly 500 personnel working on the fire, and Coil stated, “We’re very conscious of focusing on this area because this is the crux of the next few days… the Highway 260 corridor, with an eye on where Scout Ranch is.”