The Sheridan Fire, influenced by unseasonably hot, windy and dry conditions, made a push northward, more than doubling in size to an estimated 8,594 acres, according to a Prescott National Forest Service press release Thursday afternoon.
The preparations made by firefighters to reduce vegetation adjacent to the Camp Wood Road were critically important to slowing the forward momentum of the fire-front. The fire did spot over the Camp Wood Road, at the junction of Forest Road 95, initiating a full closure of the Camp Wood Road within the Forest Boundary.
Forest officials are looking to expand the Fire Area Closure to include an area north of the Camp Wood Road.
The Sheridan Fire burns 23 miles northwest of Prescott in the Chino Valley District.