PHOTO: The Bush Fire raging northeast of the Phoenix area continues to eat up land in the Tonto National Forest with little containment, officials said.
By early Wednesday, the blaze became the seventh-largest in Arizona wildfire history at more than 89,059 acres, based on KTAR News 92.3 FM research.
Despite the growth and evacuations, no structures have been lost yet. Containment was at 5%, fire incident management team spokesman David Albo told KTAR News. More than 1,500 residents were evacuated from Tonto Basin, Punkin Center, Sunflower and the Apache Lake area.
The Bush Fire passed 2003’s Aspen Fire near Tucson, which burned through 84,750 acres.
The human-caused Bush blaze, which began Saturday, has been tearing through tall grasses and brush. More than 500 personnel have been assigned to attack the fire.