The fire in Black Canyon is now 80 percent contained and expected to be extinguished by the end of the day, or at the very latest tomorrow morning, said Tiffany Davila, a public affairs officer with the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management.
One of the main objectives of the fire containment effort was to avoid obstructing traffic along the nearby I-17, according to Davila.
“We know that that area is a highly traveled portion of the road. We did not want to impact travelers," Davila said. "So we made sure to put extra crews on there to keep the fire away from that portion of I-17.”
ADOT official Peter Corbett said the area usually gets congested during holiday weekends, and that ADOT is taking measures to fight this.
“Southbound on I-17 in the area from Sunset Point to New River, we have reduced the speed limit by 10 miles an hour.”
Corbett said he expects traffic to pick up as the day goes on, particularly on the southbound part of the freeway.
