Goodwin Fire Latest: Now 43 Percent Contained; Highway 69 Reopens Friday

The Goodwin Fire is now 43 percent contained, officials announced at a community meeting Friday night. And, in more good news, they said that Highway 69 is expected to be completely reopened on Friday.

Officials say that they have been able to confirm that several homes have been lost to the fire, which has burned since Saturday and consumed close to 28,00 acres.

Three homes were burned on the west side of Highway 69 and several more in Pine Flat.

There are approximately 800 firefighters involved in the operation, and the residents of Mayer who were forced to flee were allowed to return to their homes.

Gov. Doug Ducey, who declared a state of emergency in Yavapai County yesterday, visited the area.

The fire, the cause is still under investigation — is burning the area south of Prescott, the same area where 19 firefighters died in the Yarnell Fire four years ago Friday.

Firefighters have been told by officials that "Nothing is worth you getting hurt." (Subscribe to local news alerts on Patch).

Firefighters were able to prevent the wildfire from going into the communities of Dewey and Humboldt.

While more than 3,000 structures have been considered at risk, authorities say they are waiting until it is safe to enter the fire-ravaged areas to assess the extent of fire damages and the number of structures possibly lost.

A minor injury involving a firefighter was reported Wednesday.

Also on Wednesday, officials sent out another warning not to fly drones over the area after an intrusion forced the immediate grounding of all firefighting aircraft. It is illegal to fly a drone within the restricted area, and officials say that violators will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

"The community is reminded that if you fly, we can’t fly," they said.

While the evacuation order for Mayer is being lifted, access to the community will only be from the south, officials say. State Road 69 will be open from I-17 north to Central Avenue in Mayer but will be closed at Central Avenue to all traffic heading north.

To the north, the other closure point for SR69 remains in effect at the intersection of SR169 and SR69. No southbound traffic will be allowed on SR69 south of SR169. The High Chaparral community and Poland Junction, both east and west of SR69, are still under full evacuation.

To access Mayer from the north side of the closure, community members are advised they should take SR69 south to SR169, SR169 east to I-17, I-17 south to SR-69 and then SR69 north into Mayer.

Officials say the closure for SR69 was necessary as firefighters completed burnout operations along the roadway north of Poland Junction.

These actions are required to create a fire break to help protect the communities to the north.

The following communities remain under mandatory evacuation: Pine Flat, Breezy Pines, Poland Junction, Chauncey Ranch Road, Mt. Union, Walker, Upper Blue Hills, Potato Patch, Dewey west of SR69 and Mountain Pine Acres.

Officials say many of the evacuations will remain in effect for several more days.

Officials say the north side of the fire continues to be the most active area for firefighters.

Tactical options are being developed on the north side of the fire. The anticipation of favorable weather conditions today will allow firefighters to make progress in several areas around the perimeter

People wanting to make donations can contact either Tony Figlerski with the American Red Cross at (928) 814-4999 or Lt. Miner with the Salvation Army at (623) 910-1501 or Lt. Elaine Mansoor at (928) 778-0150.

Photos via Arizona Department of Transportation and Arizona Department of Forestry