VIDEO: Fire crews in Apache Junction spent Thursday afternoon and evening putting out a large brush fire that closed a portion of State Route 88. State officials say the forward progress of the fire has been stopped. About 160 firefighters from multiple agencies came together fight the flames, which burned roughly 260 acres.
Named the Lost Dutchman Fire, the blaze was first reported around 2:30 p.m. with smoke spotted behind the rodeo grounds located at Lost Dutchman Boulevard and Tomahawk Road. Apache Junction police called for evacuations of some homes along Hackmore Road, which is near where the fire broke out. Then, a second fire started around 4 p.m. just south of the Lost Dutchman Fire. The new blaze was named Southern Fire and grew to 35 acres just east of Goldfield Road near Southern Avenue.