Crews make progress as they battle Boulder View Fire

PHOENIX — The Boulder View Fire, which began Thursday afternoon near the Boulder Heights community five miles east of Carefree, continues to burn.

According to a press release issued by the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management on Saturday morning, the fire has torched 3,736 acres and is 0% contained.

Per the release, “firefighters have made progress” and have stopped spread of the fire on its north end near Bartlett Lake Road.

The western side of the fire follows the north-south Powerline Road. Crews made improvements to use the road as a holding feature.

Boulder View Fire Update: 6/29 10:30 AM

GO and SET orders remain in place.

The fire remains active – please continue to be safe and follow the instructions of emergency personnel.

For additional information about the fire, contact the fire information line at 480-581-1094

— Maricopa County Dept of Emergency Mgmt (@MaricopaReady) June 29, 2024

The eastern side of the fire burned into the Wildcat Fire burn area.

Fire crews are working to suppress the southwest corner of the fire.

Bartlett Lake Dam Road is closed at Cave Creek Road.

Early Friday, 60 residences north of Dove Valley Road and east of 136th Street were put into “GO,” evacuate status. Firefighters proactively burned vegetation around these houses to protect them from approaching flames.

Air resources and ground crews worked Friday on the southeast edge of the fire which had the most fire activity. Crews continued working in that area overnight and Saturday morning, improving retardant lines.

On Saturday, crews will continue structure protection efforts, with a focus on the southeast part of the fire due to residences at risk and wind direction.

Evacuation orders were issued Thursday night for residents in the area of the Boulder View Fire in northeast Scottsdale, authorities said Friday.

The fire began around 2:30 p.m. Thursday near the Boulder Heights community. It grew to around 3,200 acres by Friday afternoon with no containment.

The first evacuation orders were issued a little before midnight for homes near the Sunrise Desert Vistas subdivision southeast of the fire, according to Maricopa County Department of Emergency Management.

“Crews were noticing extreme fire behavior. As a precaution we decided to go ahead, coordinate with MCSO [Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office] and start the evacuation process to a handful of homes,” Tiffany Davila of the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management, told KTAR News 92.3 FM on Friday morning.

Homes near the Granite Mountain Ranch subdivisions were also alerted to be ready to leave if situations worsen.

Sixty buildings were threatened due to the fire, but there were no reports of destroyed structures as of Friday morning.

Where are the evacuation orders in place?

Homes from 136th Street to 144th Street from Dove Valley Road to the Tonto National Forest were in “GO” status as of Friday morning. This status alerts residents to immediately leave due to life-threatening danger.

Evacuate/GO! MCSO is evacuating 136th St to 144th St to Dove Valley Rd to Tonto National Forest a due to the Boulder View Wildfire. Info at https://t.co/GMs0bQh3mo. pic.twitter.com/BAdaTE5quU

— Maricopa County Dept of Emergency Mgmt (@MaricopaReady) June 28, 2024

Authorities also put a stretch of land from 136th Street to Box Bar Road from Rio Verde Road to Dove Valley into “SET” status around 9 a.m. This status means residents need to be ready to leave if conditions worsen.

The update around 9 a.m. represented an expansion of the endangered zone. Earlier in the day, only the stretch of land from 136th Street to 152nd streets, Dixileta Drive to Dove Valley, was in “SET” status.

Wildfire! MCSO is expanding the SET position – 136th St to Box Bar Rd, Rio Verde Rd to Dove Valley due to the Boulder View Wildfire. Be prepared to act. If necessary, take prescriptions, water, snacks, identification and pets. Info: https://t.co/kOJrO9ise1 pic.twitter.com/KuBgWa0ili

— Maricopa County Dept of Emergency Mgmt (@MaricopaReady) June 28, 2024

The Red Cross currently has an evacuation center at Cactus Shadows High School near Dove Valley Road and 56th Street.

Efforts to take down the Boulder View Fire

Davila said Friday morning there were around 180 personnel fighting the Boulder View Fire.

“We utilized a lot of aircrafts yesterday. We will be launching aircrafts again this morning,” she said. “We do have additional ground resources ordered for this morning as well.”

The fire is thought to be human-caused, but no exact reason was cited. The incident remains under investigation.

KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Jim Cross contributed to this report.

This is an updated version of a story originally posted on June 27, 2024.