The Cave Creek Complex Wildfire was the third largest forest fire in the state of

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

to date, after the

Rodeo–Chediski Fire The Rodeo–Chediski Fire was a wildfire that burned in east-central Arizona beginning on June 18, 2002, and was not controlled until July 7.http://www.floa.org/rodeo_chediski/fire_photos12.htm Rodeo-Chediski fire, Forest lakes owners associat ...

and

Wallow Fire The Wallow Fire was a wildfire that started in the White Mountains (Arizona), White Mountains near Alpine, Arizona on May 29, 2011. It was named for the Bear Wallow Wilderness area where the fire originated, The fire eventually spread across ...

History

The fire started on June 21, 2005, by a lightning strike and scorched . Within an hour, the fire had already burned from . When news agencies were covering the story, a FOX news affiliate captured video of the historic Cave Creek Mistress mine destroyed by the fire as soon as the fire touched it. The mine was a total loss. The largest recorded

saguaro cactus The saguaro ( , ; ''Carnegiea gigantea'') is a tree-like cactus species in the monotypic genus ''Carnegiea'' that can grow to be over tall. It is native to the Sonoran Desert in Arizona, the Mexican state of Sonora, and the Whipple Mountains ...

— standing at 46 feet tall and having a base circumference of 7 feet, 10 inches — was also injured in this fire, and later collapsed.

Bibliography

* (2005).
FEMA Authorizes Funds To Help Arizona Fight Cave Creek Complex
" FEMA.gov. Retrieved September 8. * (2005). "Crews Work to Turn Arizona Wildfire Away From Homes." ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

''. June 24. * (2005).
Western Flames
" FOXNews. Retrieved September 8, 2007.

References

External links

Incident report, last update (July 14, 2005)
{{Arizona wildfires 2005 in Arizona 2005 wildfires in the United States Wildfires in Arizona