Less than three weeks before the start of summer, Arizona wildfire season is in high gear.
A 980-acre human-caused Ocotillo Fire in Cave Creek destroyed eight homes last Saturday and forced hundreds of evacuations before it was fully contained Tuesday. It was the second fire in Cave Creek in the past two weeks.
There are several fires burning across the state, the largest being in the Superstition Mountains called the Sawtooth Fire, which has burned more than 21,000 acres with 8 percent containment as of Tuesday. A handful of residents were evacuated.
A carpet of brush and weeds created by heavy winter rainfall has turned into fire fuel across the desert, according to Maricopa Fire and Medical Assistant Chief Brad Pitassi.
“It’s going to be a long, hot summer,” he said.