Woodbury Fire nearly triples to 36,000 acres as others blaze Arizona
Jun 15, 2019, 8:22 PM | Updated: Jun 18, 2019, 12:30 pm
(Facebook Photo/Daisy Mountain Fire & Medical)
(Facebook Photo/Daisy Mountain Fire & Medical)
PHOENIX — Fires continue to rage across Arizona with the Woodbury and Tilbury fires burning east of the Valley as fire restrictions have been placed in the Tonto National Forest.
The Woodbury Fire nearly tripled in size from 12,000 acres on Friday to more than 36,400 acres on Saturday due to a weather event called a “dryline.”
Maybe the best description of where AZ stands on fire danger right now after the wetter than normal winter/spring. The desert is gasoline right now. As bad as I’ve seen it since about ‘05. People are going to go above & beyond when it comes to not doing anything to ignite fire
— Jim Cross (@Crossfire923) June 15, 2019
A dryline is when two different air masses combine to create high winds, according to authorities. This event caused the rapid and unexpected spread of the fire just five miles northwest of Superior.
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The fire was 0% contained as of Sunday evening.
A community meeting scheduled for Sunday was to determine what steps to take to contain the fire.
The Tilbury Fire, further south near Kearny in Pinal County, was only 22 acres when it was 100% contained, but came within yards of several structures, according to the Department of Forestry and Fire Management.
Air attack pic from Friday’s #TilburyFire a mile NW of #Kearny. Multiple structures were threatened but w/help from aviation resources, #AZForestry & local coops stopped forward progress & caught it at 22 acres. Fire is 100% contained as of this am. #AZFire @PinalCountyOEM pic.twitter.com/8was0nE2Ok
— AZ State Forestry (@azstateforestry) June 15, 2019
Several other fires including the Mountain Fire, which burned more than 7,000 acres near Cave Creek, and other brush fires have been popping up throughout the area.
These led to a fire restriction in the Tonto National Forrest beginning on Saturday.
Multiple brush fires have occurred in Scottsdale last week with one such fire growing to more than 180 acres and briefly shut down traffic near the corner of Scottsdale Road and Williams Drive.
Higher precipitation over the winter and spring, causing the growth of more vegetation than normal, seems to be the main culprit for the high fire risk.
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