The Sycamore Fire is burning in the Tonto National Forest. A section of the forest and the Salt River Canyon is under emergency closure from now until July.
A map of restricted areas can be found on the Forest Service website.
June 29, 2026: Haystack Ranch community on SET status
The lightning-caused Sycamore Fire located north of Globe in the Salt River Canyon Wilderness Area has grown to nearly 12,000 acres.
While it is currently 60 percent contained, Haystack Ranch community is in SET status.
June 28, 2026: Containment grows to 37%
Fire weather worsened across Arizona this weekend, with winds gusting 35 to 40 miles an hour in some parts.
The lightning-caused Sycamore Fire has burned nearly 12,000 acres about 15 miles north of Globe. Fire spokesman Matthew Wilcox says they continue to focus asset protection efforts on three ranches that are threatened.
"We’ve communicated with those ranchers on the current situation. Those are on set status. That’s a status to be prepared. Be ready, have your go bag ready to go and if the fire does start expanding from its current footprint, we can always reassess," Wilcox said.
That fire is about 37% contained.
June 26, 2026: Fire grows to more than 11,000 acres
The lightning-caused Sycamore Fire located north of Globe in the Salt River Canyon Wilderness Area has grown to over 11,000 acres and is currently 37% contained.
June 24, 2026: Containment at 17%
The lightning-caused Sycamore Fire north of Globe grew on Wednesday to over 9,500 acres and only 17% containment.
June 23, 2026: Blaze grows to 9,000 acres
In the Tonto National Forest near Globe, the Sycamore Fire continues to grow.
The perimeter is now more than 9,000 acres, mostly due to the firefighting strategy in place. Madeline Bautista, a spokesperson for the response team, says the fire is burning in dangerous and difficult terrain, which has limited ground access.
"We are using fire where our containment lines is in order to meet the fire where it's at," Bautista said.
She says by the time the fire reaches these lines, the brush will have already burned, limiting the risk of spread.
The Sycamore Fire is the largest of three other Arizona fires sparked by lightning in the last week, including the Flat Fire outside of Heber.
June 22, 2026: Wildfire grows to 8,000 acres, with 7% containment
Challenging terrain, as well as hot, dry and breezy conditions have made containment of the Sycamore Fire difficult. Over the weekend, it grew by another 5,000 acres.
Madeline Bautista, a spokesperson for the U.S. Forest Service, says this is because crews are proactively burning brush at different road access points.
“The fire, it's burning in really challenging areas where it's remote and there's poor access. There are also cliffs and canyons across the fire area, which basically increases the complexity of fire extinguishment,” Bautista said.
“So we're using ground resources along containment lines, and those lines are basically Forest Service roads that are being prepped so that we can utilize fire in order to meet the wildfire where it's at, and from there, there would be no more fuel for it to burn.”
No communities are at risk. Residents at Griffin Ranch and Haystack Ranch have been told to prepare for evacuations. Crews have managed to keep the flames at bay on these two sites with the use of sprinklers, according to Bautista.
The Sycamore Fire is among four large wildfires burning across the state. Three out of four were sparked by lightning. The cause is unknown for the Pocket Fire, which prompted evacuations near Sedona over the weekend.
A map of all current wildfires can be found at inciweb.wildfire.gov.
June 18, 2026: Blaze is over 3,000 acres and zero percent contained
Lightning sparked the fire on Monday. On Thursday afternoon, it was at 3,334 acres and zero percent contained. There is currently no threat to surrounding communities or structures.
Crews are monitoring some private land in the forest for potential spread.
Amanda Oliver with the U.S. Forest Service says the fire is traveling southeast toward U.S. 60, but roads remain open.
Stage 1 fire restrictions have been in effect across the entire forest since May due to elevated wildfire conditions. A list of restricted activities can be found here.
Road closure updates can be found at AZ511.gov.
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