ARIZONA NEWS

Crews make progress as they battle Boulder View Fire

Jun 28, 2024, 5:35 AM | Updated: Jun 29, 2024, 10:43 am

boulder-view-fire...

The Boulder View Fire grew to an estimated 2,500 acres as of Friday morning. (Tonto National Forest)

(Tonto National Forest)

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.


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.

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.

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.

We want to hear from you.

Have a story idea or tip? Pass it along to the KTAR News team here.

Arizona News

Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs called for increased state firefighter pay on Thursday during an event to ...

Kevin Stone

Arizona governor calls for pay raise for firefighters while honoring those who battled LA wildfires

Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs called for increased state firefighter pay while honoring the task force members who helped battle the Los Angeles wildfires.

2 hours ago

free wigs...

Kevin Stone

Arizona cancer support group opening free wig salon in Phoenix

An Arizona cancer support organization is launching an initiative to provide patients and survivors experiencing hair loss with free wigs.

4 hours ago

fatal Glendale car crash killed mother car crashed into Glendale home Arizona...

Serena O'Sullivan

Suspect arrested after car crashes into house in Glendale, killing homeowner, 3 months ago

Celeste La Sean Downer, 22, was arrested on Tuesday for the fatal Glendale car crash that struck a mother of two on Nov. 10, 2024.

5 hours ago

Woman arrested in Phoenix in homicide case...

KTAR.com

77-year-old Phoenix woman released from hospital, taken to jail for allegedly killing husband

A 77-year-old woman was released from a hospital Tuesday and booked into jail for allegedly killing her husband in Phoenix last month.

6 hours ago

Gadzooks Enchiladas & Soup closed its Tempe and Chandler locations....

Kevin Stone

Gadzooks Enchiladas & Soup closes 2 of its 5 metro Phoenix restaurants

Gadzooks Enchiladas & Soup, a family-owned Valley restaurant business, has shuttered two of its five locations.

7 hours ago

A pedestrian was struck and killed on a freeway access road near downtown Phoenix Wednesday night....

Kevin Stone

Pedestrian struck and killed on freeway access road near downtown Phoenix

A pedestrian was struck and killed on a freeway access road near downtown Phoenix Wednesday night, authorities said.

8 hours ago

Sponsored Articles

...

Bright Wealth Management

How IRAs are a helpful tool in retirement planning

When it comes to retirement planning, individual retirement accounts (IRAs) can be a great tool for income growth.

...

Bright Wealth Management

How to start your retirement planning early and avoid costly mistakes

Retirement planning can feel overwhelming, but with the right guidance, you can avoid costly pitfalls.

...

The UPS Store

How The UPS Store is giving back to the community

PHOENIX -- As 2024 nears a close, The UPS Store is looking to give back to the Arizona community with the holiday season approaching.

Crews make progress as they battle Boulder View Fire