The Bush Fire was a human-caused

wildfire A wildfire, forest fire, or a bushfire is an unplanned and uncontrolled fire in an area of Combustibility and flammability, combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identified as a ...

that started in the

Tonto National Forest The Tonto National Forest, encompassing , is the largest of the six national forests in Arizona and is the ninth largest national forest in the United States. The forest has diverse scenery, with elevations ranging from 1,400 feet (427 m) in ...

northeast of

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

. It burned . The fire started on June 13, 2020 near the intersection of Bush Highway and SR 87 and was fully contained on July 6, 2020

Events

By June 16, 2020, the fire had burned more than with 0% containment and was the largest fire burning in the US at that time. By the morning of June 17, 2020, the fire had burned more than 89,059 (36,041 ha) acres with 5% containment. By the morning of June 18, 2020, the fire had burned around 25,882 acres since the previous morning. The burned area has grown to 114,941 while containment remained at 5%. On July 6, 2020 the fire was fully contained.

Impact

On June 15, 2020, the Gila County Sheriff's Office began issuing evacuation orders for nearby residents with the

Maricopa County Sheriff's Office The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office (MCSO) is the law enforcement agency that serves Maricopa County, Arizona, and is the largest Sheriffs in the United States, sheriff's office in Arizona. The MCSO provides patrol services and criminal invest ...

issuing orders the following day. Multiple highways were closed due to the fire.

Gallery

BushFireArizonaJune172020.jpg, The Bush Fire burning in central Arizona on June 17, 2020 as seen from space

References

{{Arizona wildfires Wildfires in Arizona 2020 Arizona wildfires Tonto National Forest Wildfires in Maricopa County, Arizona