PHOENIX — A wildfire burning in east-central Arizona had grown to 2,500 acres Wednesday evening, prompting officials to warn residents to begin preparing for evacuations.
Navajo County officials issued "pre-evacuation" orders for five communities — Show Low, Pinetop-Lakeside, McNary, Fort Apache and Hon-Dah — at about 5:10 p.m. Officials had evacuated a sixth community, Forestdale. A shelter for evacuees was set up at the junior high in Snowflake.
Ryan White, who works in Show Low, about 180 miles northeast of Phoenix, said he was seeing a lot of smoke and ash.
“Fire is still on the outskirts of town. But the smoke is really bad. Wind is really getting bad," he said Wednesday at about 6 p.m. "The wind seems to be pushing it right toward Show Low, Pinetop areas. I could smell the fire around noon; went to look outside the shop and could see the smoke building. We are northeast of the fire.”
By late afternoon, fire administrators had ordered a trio of air tankers and Type 1 fire crews, which typically battle the most intense wildfires in the country.
Earlier, a fire commander said unimproved road 65 would be the trigger point for a pre-evacuation order. The road is approximately 15 miles southeast of the junction at State Routes 73 and 260.
The cause of the fire was not known.
The Arizona Department of Transportation reported that smoke from the fire had shut down a portion of U.S. 60 in both directions from State Route 73 to just south of Show Low.
Gov. Doug Ducey in a statement said his staff was keeping him updated on the fire's progress.
“I have instructed my senior staff, the State Forester, the Department of Emergency and Military Affairs and the Department of Public Safety to provide all necessary support to local and federal agencies as they work to control the fire and protect the Pinetop-Lakeside, Show Low and White Mountain Apache communities from danger," he said in a statement. "This area has experienced severe wildfires before, so the state is on high alert given the additional risks posed by current weather conditions. Whether it’s resources, support or backup, we stand at the ready to provide fire officials and our brave and talented first responders with all they need to safeguard Arizonans from this fire."
The fire outside of Show Low was one of several that produced smoke plumes visible from radar on Wednesday afternoon.
According to the National Weather Service, weather conditions for the weekend could help the fire to spread and make efforts more difficult for firefighters. The weather is expected to get warmer and drier in the area, with wind slowing down as the weekend progresses.
“With the winds becoming lighter it’ll help a bit, but with the temperature rising, that’s not going to be too helpful because it’s definitely going to be getting drier and warmer, and it just kind of pushes the fuels to increase their burnability,” a meteorologist with the National Weather Service said.
Thursday’s forecast high was 85 degrees, and temps were rise thereafter, hitting 100 in the area by Sunday.
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