Pinery Fire is 675 acres

The Pinery Fire in southern Arizona, roughly 29 miles southeast of Willcox, has swelled to about 675 acres, forcing the evacuation of a national monument and calling for six hotshot crews. The forestry division said the fire is human-caused.

The Pinery Fire in southern Arizona, roughly 29 miles southeast of Willcox, has swelled to about 675 acres, forcing the evacuation of a national monument and calling for six hotshot crews to battle the blaze.

The forestry division said the fire is human-caused, but the source of the blaze remains under investigation.

About 150 fire personnel have been called to fight the blaze. Numerous aircraft have been ordered to aid fire crews on scene.

Additional resources have been ordered, including four hotshot crews to join the two hotshot teams already working to prevent the fire from progressing.

The fire was first reported at about

1:30 p.m.

Within hours it more than tripled from about 200 acres to about 675 acres.

The Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management reported at about 6 p.m. Saturday that the fire had started on private land, quickly spreading over dry grass and brush to the Chiricahua National Monument and northward onto the Coronado National Forest.

The monument has been evacuated and the park is closed, according to the forestry and fire department.

The department is working with the Coronado National Forest and the National Park Service to extinguish the fire.

On Saturday morning, the National Weather Service Flagstaff released a Wind and Critical Fire Weather advisory through 8 p.m.

Blowing dust and reduced visibility are likely across northeastern Arizona, according to a release from the NWS.