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Bush Fire Now 7th-Largest In Arizona History

Fires continue to grow throughout Arizona, pushed by high winds and dry fuels.

The Bush Fire northeast of the Valley is now the largest active fire in the country and has grown to more than 89,000 acres. It's the seventh-largest in Arizona history.

The fire has forced road closures and evacuations in Tonto Basin, Punkin Center, Sunflower and Apache Lake. Other communities are on alert status.

Fire information officer Dee Hines said the fire has been feeding on a dry fuel base.

"The front of this fire, is so spread out, I mean you’ve got quite a variety of different fuels that it’s burning through. Pretty much everything that’s available from the Sonoran Desert all the way up to ponderosa pine," Hines said. 

Elsewhere in the state, the Bighorn Fire near Tucson has forced evacuations in the community of Summerhaven.

The Mangum Fire has grown to more than 47,000 acres, and continues to block access to the Grand Canyon’s North Rim. 

Ron Dungan was a senior field correspondent at KJZZ from 2020 to 2024.