Telegraph Fire (Joseph Pacheco photo via Twitter / @ ArizonaDOT)
PHOENIX – Forest fire season is raging across Arizona, causing damage, and leading to evacuations and road closures across the state.
Fueled by hot and dry conditions, fires burned hundreds of thousands of hectares this year.
Here’s an updated look at the most disruptive active wildfires across Arizona (in reverse chronological order of their discovery):
Walnut fire
The walnut fire began in the Texas Canyon area of Cochise County’s June 20 and was measured at 6,800 acres without containment on Tuesday.
The fire began about 7 miles northwest of the Dragoon Township and spread toward Interstate 10 between Willcox and Benson in southeast Arizona.
I-10 was closed in both directions between mile post 331 near US 191 and East Dragoon Road Tuesday afternoon, with traffic diverted west onto US 191, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation. The Texas Canyon rest stop was also closed.
Wyrick fire
The Wyrick fire began in southwest Navajo County on June 19 and had consumed 7,101 acres without containment as of Tuesday morning, according to InciWeb.
Navajo County officials issued evacuation orders for Antelope Valley, Despain Ranch, and Heber-Overgaard north of State Routes 260 and 277.
According to the fire’s Facebook information page, more than 90 workers were seconded to tackle the fire in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest, which crept within 2 miles of Heber.
SR 260 is closed west of Heber to Clay Springs, SR 377 is closed from Heber to Holbrook, and SR 277 is closed from SR 377 to Heber, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation.
Rafael fire
The Rafael fire began on June 18 and, according to InciWeb, had consumed 24,064 acres along the Yavapai-Coconino circular line on Tuesday morning without containment. More than 130 employees are tasked with fighting the fire, which the day before was estimated at 20,000 hectares.
The Rafael Fire began as four small fires ignited by lightning before merging into one large fire in parts of the Prescott, Kaibab, and Coconino National Forests east of State Route 89 and north of the Prescott area.
The Coconino County Sheriff’s Office issued evacuation orders for the Sycamore Canyon area. Several other communities south of Interstate 40 and west of I-17 are in SET mode, which means residents should be prepared for the possibility of an evacuation.
Several miles away, the crews also fought a group of five small fires west of SR 89. The Rock Butte Fires had used around 800 acres by Tuesday morning, about 100 acres more than the day before.
Backbone fire
The backbone fire ignited about 12 miles east of Strawberry on June 16 and had consumed 37,296 acres without containment by Tuesday morning. The acreage was reported at 32,757 acres on Monday evening.
Around 440 people are assigned to the fire caused by lightning.
Strawberry and Pine are being evacuated and the Fossil Creek Recreation Area is closed due to the fire.
State Route 260 has been closed in both directions between Camp Verde and SR 87, and SR 87 is closed from Payson to Lake Mary Road, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation.
Summit fire
The Pinnacle Fire began in Graham County’s Santa Teresa Mountains on June 10 and reached 34,192 acres on Tuesday morning with a 42% containment. It was the same size with 26% containment the day before.
According to the latest update from the incident team, around 400 people are assigned to the fire.
Evacuation orders remain in effect for the Black Rock Road area and the Klondyke-Aravaipa Corridor.
The cause of the Pinnacle Fire is being investigated.
Telegraph fire
The sixth largest forest fire in Arizona history began on June 4 south of Superior and has spread east south of Globe to consume 180,685 acres on Tuesday morning, with little or no change in size in recent days. The Telegraph Fire damaged or destroyed 52 buildings, including some homes.
About 500 employees are still associated with the fire, about half of the top workforce. Containment increased from 67% to 87% contained overnight, according to task force officers.
Evacuation orders remain in effect for Dripping Springs, Wind Spirit, Hagen Ranch, Slash S Ranch, and Government Springs.
State Route 77 is still closed between Globe and Winkelman, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation.
The exact origin of the telegraph fire has not been determined, however it is being investigated as a man-made incident.
InciWeb has a map showing the location of this season’s forest fires in Arizona and across the country.
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