Bush Fire now close to 115,000 acres as heat, winds persist

Despite hot, dry and windy conditions, the Bush Fire held at below 115,000 acres as of Thursday afternoon.

The Bush Fire and multiple other blazes continued to burn throughout the state, all fueled by dry conditions and a combination of invasive and native plants.

Bush Fire

The Bush Fire, which remains the largest active fire in the U.S., reached 114,941 acres as of Thursday afternoon.

Thursday was a busy day for fire crews battling the Bush Fire who are working to monitor and contain the fire, according to the Bush Fire operations section chief.

Increased winds and dry conditions “continue to produce extreme fire behavior,” which is fueled even more by invasive grasses, native grasses and dry plants, according to officials.

Hot, dry, and windy conditions are expected to remain over the next week to 10 days, leading to extended burn periods and continuous fire activity overnight.

Residents in Jakes Corner, Pioneer Pass, Brownsville, and Slate Creek were told to evacuate on Thursday afternoon.

People in Gisela, Rye, Deer Creek, 76 Ranch and B T Ranch were told to prepare in case of evacuation.

As of Thursday, the fire is 5% contained.

Residents were still evacuated from the communities of Apache Lake, Sunflower, Punkin Center and Tonto Basin.

Officials described Apache and Saguaro lakes as a “less concerning area” because the fire is backing against the wind, and it will be less intense when it reaches the lakes.

Along State Route 87, the fire has been managed for the past few days by firefighters who continue to patrol and monitor the area.

North of Sunflower, crews are busy initiating controlled fires around the Mount Ord lookout tower to protect the structures on the mountain top.

Controlled fires were also started along 22 Road by workers to protect the Diamond Ranch area.

Fire officials have cleared out the areas around APS infrastructure east along the SR 188, including Jakes Corner. There are more than 100 power poles that need to be protected.

Crews are finishing burnout operations in the Tonto Basin area to create a buffer to the west of the basin and the SR 188 to lessen the fire intensity.

Mangum Fire

Officials initially said that the Mangum fire had grown to 56,780 acres Thursday morning but revised that number to 54,845 acres as of Thursday afternoon.

“Yesterday was a good day on the Mangum fire,” said Matt Rau with the Southwest Area Incident Management Team in an update on Thursday afternoon. “Crews made excellent progress securing the bottom of the heel of the fire.”

584 fire personnel have been assigned to the fire and have reached a 3% containment.

Residents along the House Rock Road area north of Highway 89A were forced to evacuate on Wednesday afternoon, according to a press release by the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office, due to the Mangum fire reaching several “trigger points” nearby.

Rock Wildlife Area was closed due to the fire.

The following also remain closed:

• Highway 89A from Marble Canyon to Fredonia

• Highway 67 from Jacob Lake to the Grand Canyon National Park

• North Rim of the Grand Canyon National Park i North Kaibab Ranger District i Lands east of Fredonia

Bighorn Fire

Officials initially reported the Bighorn fire had reached 31,208 acres but revised the number to 23,892 acres as of Thursday afternoon. The blaze is 40% contained.

Fire behavior reportedly worsened by noon with wind spreading fire in La Cañada del Oro Canyon and spotting over Reef of Rock towards Oracle Ridge.

A “GO” evacuation alert was issued to residents in the area of Peppersauce Canyon to Highjinks Road and the Campo Bonito area of Oracle on Thursday. Residents were also issued evacuation orders in the Mount Lemmon area, including Willow Canyon and the Lower Catalina Highway and Lower Mount Lemmon communities from Organization Ridge Road to South Willow Canyon.

This includes Summerhaven, a small community that was destroyed by the 2003 Aspen Fire and has been rebuilding since. On Thursday, Tucson Fire Department posted that Summerhaven has been spared.

Catalina Foothills and Golder Ranch were also alerted that they are in the “SET” stage of the Ready, Set, Go process, meaning they must get ready to evacuate.

The surrounding area south of East Hawser St. and east of North Lago del Oro Parkway, including Catalina Regional Park are also in the “SET” stage.

Fire managers expect fire will move to the north from Canada del Oro into the flats at Wild Cow Springs possibly crossing into Pinal County overnight.

Overnight, flames on Mount Lemmon burned through Oracle Ridge, creating spot fires in Stratton Canyon. They used controlled burns along the Catalina Highway corridor overnight to manage the spread of the fire.

The Bringham Fire

The Bringham Fire, which is burning in the Clifton Ranger District of the Apache and Sitgreaves National Forests, has grown to 17,423 acres as of Thursday afternoon.

The 316 personnel on the scene will attempt to hold a fire line at US 191 with potential burnout operations. Officials said it will take multiple days of burning to control the fire, which remained 5% contained.