The Bush Fire outside of metro Phoenix spread past 150,000 acres by early Friday, making it the fifth-largest wildfire in Arizona history.
The blaze in the Tonto National Forest has eaten through land around State Route 87 northeast of Mesa at an alarming rate and was 7% contained, officials reported.
The fire had been at 114,941 acres Thursday, the seventh-largest wildfire burn of all-time in the state, based on KTAR News 92.3 FM research. The Bush Fire passed the Woodbury Fire, which whipped through nearly 124,00 acres in the Superstition Mountains a year ago. That fire, which started June 8, 2019, was not fully contained until mid-July.
The human-caused Bush blaze was sparked Saturday by a burning vehicle and has forced Gila County officials to order residents in Brownsville, Jake’s Corner, Slate Creek and Pioneer Pass to evacuate.