More than 600 firefighters are still working to contain the Lane 2 fire, which grew by nearly 2,000 acres overnight.

Even though the fire grew, officials said the fire lines near the developed areas held.

One firefighter was airlifted to the hospital Wednesday morning after suffering injuries battling the Lane 2 wildfire north of Phoenix.

The name of the crew member or the extent of injuries the firefighter suffered was not immediately released.

The blaze that forced the evacuation of the historic mining town of Crown King no longer directly threatens the town or homes in nearby Horsethief basin, officials said.

But higher temperatures, dropping humidity and forecasts of more erratic winds means that the threat to the homes could again rise.

The 9,459-acre blaze -- nearly 15 square miles -- was 10 percent contained Thursday morning, fire official Mike King said. Seven structures, including three homes, have been destroyed.

Prescott National Forest authorities have closed all national forest land south of County Road 177 to public access.

On Tuesday, fire spokeswoman Lori Cook said a thunderstorm packing strong winds went over the fire and fanned the flames.

Prescott National Forest spokeswoman Debbie Maneely said a line of retardant dropped by aircraft between the fire and the nearest homes seemed to be holding back the flames.

Areas around the homes that had been cleared of vegetation and prescribed burns that had been used in the past to remove potential fuel for a wildfire also were helping, Maneely said.

In town, fire crews continued what's called structure protection, wetting down houses and laying out sprinkler systems designed to keep homes moist should the fire change direction, Maneely said.

"It's still a touch-and-go situation in there," Maneely said.

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Firefighters have been somewhat limited in the ground fight because of the difficult, rocky, up-and-down terrain around Crown King, covered with chaparral, brush and a lot of dead pines, at an elevation of nearly 6,000 feet.

The hillsides around the old mining community are dotted with abandoned mine shafts and mine holes, and snakes abound "so nighttime activity has been limited to doing burnout operations along roads where we feel it's safe," Maneely said.

Approximately 120 people evacuated from the small mountain community of Crown King, Maneely said.

The local Marriott hotel donated rooms to evacuees Monday night, so the Red Cross shelter transitioned into a reception and care center where impacted community members can gather for help.

Additionally, the shelter has moved to Bradshaw Mountain Middle School off Highway 69. The center will be open from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.

People needing immediate shelter can call the Red Cross Grand Canyon Chapter toll free at 1-800-842-7349.

Fire Still 'Really Active,' Commander Says

"The risk is not reduced, it's just not immediate," said Tony Sciacca, commander of the team fighting the fire. "The fire is still really, really active. It still poses a tremendous threat to the communities of Crown King and Horsethief Basin."

Forecasts called for higher temperatures, lower humidity and erratic wind, which can lead to extreme fire behavior.

Earlier in the week, the blaze burned up to the southern end of Crown King.

Crews hope to protect the east side of town overnight with burnouts, in which crews light fire between a threatened area and a wildfire to reduce fuels between the two.

"We need to be able to button up that whole side so nothing skirts around again and comes to that private property," Sciacca said.

Capt. Mat Mayhall, who was helping fight the fire Wednesday, said the fire behavior has been extreme.

"The topography here, the steep slopes, adds to the fire spread," he said as a helicopter dumped water on a hot spot behind him. "There's been a drought for the past 10 years, and they've been kind of expecting this to happen to Crown King for 20 years.

"And finally, it's happened," he added. "So we're really trying to keep it from pushing into the town."

Monte Atha, 48, and his wife were among a handful of Crown King residents who decided not to evacuate. Atha was parked on his all-terrain vehicle outside the town general store Wednesday.

"We were ready to leave a couple of times," he said. "We sat right here in town with the stuff in our vehicle ready to leave town. But we kept sticking it out."

Atha said the two have been clearing out trees and brush from around their home, raking pine needles off their roof and keeping the sprinklers at ready. They have no plans to leave.

Crown King is a remote mountain community about 20 miles southeast of Prescott and has mostly part-time residents who live in scattered cabins. The mountain area is a popular vacation and weekend destination for residents of the Phoenix area.

Established as a mining town in 1870, Crown King has only about 100 full-time residents, Coleman said. Besides his cabin operation, there's a grocery store, one saloon and a one-room schoolhouse that goes through the eighth grade.