Bush Fire at 89,000 acres — about the size of Mesa
The rapidly growing Bush Fire in the Tonto National Forest grew by another 25,000 acres as multiple communities remained under evacuation, officials said Wednesday.
An infrared flight late Tuesday confirmed the wildfire had burned through 89,059 acres — about the size of Mesa — in the Four Peaks Wilderness area of the national forest.
The Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management said firefighters had contained 5% of the fire’s perimeter as of Wednesday morning. More than 500 fire crew members were working to contain the blaze.
The same hot, windy weather that helped start the wildfire was forecast to continue throughout the week. Officials expected the Bush Fire to stay active as winds in high-elevation areas reach up to 30
mph.
Several communities have evacuated as the fire has quickly advanced. Maricopa County issued evacuation orders for Sunflower, Apache Lake and Canyon Lake on Tuesday as the fire leapt in size with no containment. Gila County issued evacuations for Tonto Basin and Punkin Center earlier in the week.
The following state highways were closed due to the Bush Fire:
State Route 87 between Payson and the Bush Highway.
State Route 188 between SR 87 and U.S. Highway 60.
State Route 88 between SR 188 and Apache Lake.
The Arizona Department of Transportation said other long-term closures on State Route 88 prevent drivers from traveling east past Tortilla Flat.
Three major wildfires were also burning thousands of acres north of the Grand Canyon, near Tucson, and in eastern Arizona in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest.
The three wildfires — Bighorn, Mangum and Bringham — had burned a combined 85,000 acres as of Wednesday, much of which is steep and inaccessible terrain. All three fires have been burning for over a week.
Fire officials said Wednesday they would need to split their resources between the major wildfires in the Southwest.
The team fighting the Bringham Fire in eastern Arizona will send crews to support containment of the Bush Fire, which is currently the largest wildfire in the country.