Red Flag Warning issued for wildfires in south central, southwest Arizona
Jun 27, 2020, 11:05 AM
(Twitter Photo/@azstateforestry)
PHOENIX — With conditions conducive to an increase in fire danger, the National Weather Service issued a Red Flag Warning for the wildfires in the south central and southwest Arizona.
The Red Flag Warning will be in place from Sunday through Monday.
The strong winds and low relative humidity presents a heightened threat of fire spreading in the area.
Winds are expected to range from 30 to 35 miles per hour in Phoenix and the Tonto Basin area, and 35 to 40 miles per hour in Tucson.
The National Weather Service warned that the threat increases when winds reach 35 to 40 miles per hour.
The Central Fire near New River, north of the Valley, had burned 4,499 acres and was 80% contained as of Friday afternoon. The Aquila fire, northeast of Interstate 17 and Carefree Highway, was 100% contained as of Friday morning after it had burned 893 acres.
Northeast of Metro Phoenix, the Bush Fire had burned 190,269 acres and was 90% contained as of Friday afternoon.
In southeast Arizona, the Bighorn Fire had burned 95,225 acres in the Catalina Mountains and was 40% contained as of Saturday morning.
More than 432,000 acres of land have burned in wildfires in Arizona this year.
Three of those fires — the Bush Fire, Bighorn Fire and Mangum Fire — rank in the top 10 largest blazes in the state’s history.