The Bush Fire, which began June 13, had been reported at 37,900 acres as of about 6:45 p.m. MDT Monday, according to the state’s public incident information page, but the fire grew overnight to more than double in size. The increase places the wildfire as the eleventh largest in Arizona’s history, the 2011 Murphy Complex Fire burned 68,078 acres and is the tenth biggest.
Zero percent of the blaze has been contained, despite efforts by the 439 emergency workers who have been assigned to help control it, Laura Rabon, a public information officer for the Bush Fire told Newsweek.
Nearly 2,000 residents from the Punkin Center and Tonto Basin areas have been placed under a mandatory evacuation, Michael O’Driscoll, the director of Health and Emergency Management for Gila County told Newsweek. On Tuesday, a third town, Sunflower, was also issued an evacuation notice as the fire continued to spread.
Residents around the town of Jakes Corner have been placed under pre-evacuation notices, according to a map published by the Arizona Department of Emergency and Military Affairs.
As of midday Tuesday, no structures had been destroyed by the Bush Fire, Rabon said.
The American Red Cross established a shelter Monday in Miami, Arizona, for those who were forced to evacuate.
Officials determined that the Bush Fire’s cause is a vehicle, one that had likely been pulled over on the side of state Route 87, Rabon said.
The exact nature of the vehicle fire remains under investigation, but one possibility is the heat from the car’s undercarriage. The bottom of the vehicle can become warm enough to ignite the grass underneath, which is especially dry because of recent low humidity and high temperatures, Rabon said.
“Lots of people don’t realize that you think you’re just gonna pull over on the side of the road really quick and grab something, and you can inadvertently start a fire that way,” she said.
Parts of Route 87 remain closed because of the Bush Fire, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation. ADOT called the fire “massive” in a tweet posted early Tuesday morning, stating that there is “no estimated time” that the road would reopen.
The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality attributed the wildfire’s rapid overnight growth to the “gusty winds and dry conditions” seen in the area throughout Monday.
In its smoke forecast for the Bush Fire, the department noted that breezy and dry weather would continue both Tuesday and Wednesday, causing the wildfire and smoke to continue moving northeast. An activity meter measuring smoke levels cautioned nearby residents to remain indoors for the majority of Tuesday and Wednesday.
These “red flag” weather conditions seen across much of Arizona are causing another wildfire to burn nearly 200 miles to the north in the Kaibab National Forest. The Mangum Fire is currently 3 percent contained and has caused 29,689 acres of damage, forcing the area of Jacob Lake to evacuate.
