Brush fire shuts down Interstate-17 northbound near Camp Verde

PHOENIX — A brush fire closed down Interstate-17 northbound near Camp Verde on Tuesday evening, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation.

The left lane of the I-17 northbound reopened at 8:58 p.m., according to ADOT.

The right lane remained closed with no estimated time of reopening.

*UPDATE* *REOPENING*

I-17 northbound near Lake Montezuma at milepost 293: The left lane is now OPEN. The right lane remains closed due to brush fires.#aztraffic #I17 pic.twitter.com/mKKChSX0AD

— Arizona DOT (@ArizonaDOT) June 3, 2020

The fire is one of several burning across the state.

The 21,000-acre Sawtooth Fire, about 70 miles east of downtown Phoenix, forced the communities of Elephant Butte, Hardt Tank and Angel Basin and homes along Silver King and Williams roads in Queen Valley to evacuate. The blaze is 8% contained as of Tuesday afternoon.

The Oak Flat Fire near Top of the World, about 20 miles east of the Sawtooth Fire, destroyed two structures and two acres prior to forward progress being stopped.

Another brush fire forced the closure of a major road in Glendale earlier on Tuesday, authorities said.

Meanwhile, the Ocotillo Fire in Cave Creek was 100% contained by around noon Tuesday after displacing about 500 people and burning almost 1,000 acres.

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