Portions of Maricopa County, Arizona — home to the state’s capital of Phoenix — have been advised to evacuate as a raging wildfire burns through more than 3,000 acres of land.
The Maricopa County Department of Emergency Management announced the evacuation order on social media Thursday night, beginning with certain blocks near Tonto National Forest:
Evacuate/GO! MCSO is evacuating 136th St to 144th St to Dove Valley Rd to Tonto National Forest a due to the Boulder View Wildfire. Info at https://t.co/GMs0bQh3mo. pic.twitter.com/BAdaTE5quU
— Maricopa County Dept of Emergency Mgmt (@MaricopaReady) June 28, 2024
The alert was later extended to a much larger area covering the Sunrise Desert Vistas, Granite Mountain Ranch, Rio Mountain Estates, and Vista Verde neighborhoods in Scottsdale.
“Be prepared to act. If necessary, take prescriptions, water, snacks, identification and pets,” emergency management officials said in a follow-up post:
Wildfire! MCSO is expanding the SET position – 136th St to Box Bar Rd, Rio Verde Rd to Dove Valley due to the Boulder View Wildfire. Be prepared to act. If necessary, take prescriptions, water, snacks, identification and pets. Info: https://t.co/kOJrO9ise1 pic.twitter.com/KuBgWa0ili
— Maricopa County Dept of Emergency Mgmt (@MaricopaReady) June 28, 2024
The Boulder View Fire, which officials believe was caused by a human, has already burned through 3,200 acres with zero percent containment after sparking on Thursday afternoon, AZFamily reported.
A spokesperson with the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management said that approximately 60 people had been evacuated by 9:00 a.m. on Friday.
According to the department’s social media posts, the flames have reached lengths of 20-40 feet:
The SE side of the #BoulderViewFire stayed very active last night, at times producing extreme fire behavior w/20-40ft flame lengths. Out of safety for the public & firefighters, ops requested GO and SET for residences along the SE side.
Last night on the north side, the fire… pic.twitter.com/BzRMIPJCPH
— AZ Dept. Forestry and Fire Management (@azstateforestry) June 28, 2024
An investigation has been opened into the cause of the devastating wildfire.