Evacuations ordered for Siphon Wildfire near Superstition Wilderness Area
Maricopa County
Evacuations were ordered late Thursday morning for a handful of residents after the Siphon Wildfire was threatening homes near the Superstition Wilderness Area.
Evacuations were ordered late Thursday morning for a handful of residents after the Siphon Wildfire was threatening homes near the Superstition Wilderness Area.
About 15 residents were told to evacuate after the wildfire threatened homes on the north side of the Superstition Mountains, said Ron Coleman, a spokesman for Maricopa County Emergency Management.
About 2,350 acres had burned in the Superstition Wilderness Area as of Thursday afternoon.
Officials were concerned the blaze would jump the highway and didn’t want nearby residents to be trapped because of the fire, Coleman said.
“There’s less than 15 people out there,” Coleman said. “They don’t have to leave if they choose not to.”
State Route 88 was blocked at the access points of Canyon Lake and Tortilla Flat on Thursday, said Susan Blake, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Forest Service.
On the opposite end, some residents were told to be ready to evacuate should the situation worsen. Effected residents are those who live “east of Mountain View Road and west of the Tonto National Forest between Broadway Road and Lost Dutchman State” Park, according to the Apache Junction Police Department Facebook Page.
On Wednesday, the Siphon Fire had burned 60 to 80 acres in remote terrain in the Superstition Wilderness northeast of Apache Junction, with zero percent containment, officials said.
“The cause of the fire is under investigation. The fire is burning in a northeasterly direction and remains in the Superstition Wilderness,” the U.S. Forest Service-Tonto National Forest stated on Facebook Sept. 11.
“There are two engines and a hotshot crew assigned to the fire. A Type 1 helicopter has been ordered. The public is urged to avoid the First Water, Boulder and Siphon Trails while crews are engaged in fire-suppression operations. Smoke and flames will be visible. There are no communities at risk or closures in place at this time,” it states.
When the fire started Sept. 10, it was visible from surrounding communities, Lost Dutchman State Park, State Route 88 and U.S. Highway 60, the U.S. Forest Service stated.
“Take prescriptions, water, snacks, identification and pets,” the Tonto National Forest Facebook page said on Thursday. “Avoid this area and follow directions of emergency personnel.”
Brent Ruffner Lead News Reporter | Daily Independent
Journalism has fascinated Brent Ruffner since junior high school.
Since 2001, his stories have been published in newspapers from the Albuquerque to the Arizona and he has always had a knack for making sure his facts are right and his words are to the point.
Growing up, Brent watched as sports reporters covered his beloved Phoenix Suns, a team he followed since Charles Barkley first arrived in Phoenix via trade in 1992. Sports reporting was a dream back then.
But after gaining some writing experience, Brent found a love for news instead of covering different types of sports. In 2008, he moved to New Mexico and covered crime, schools and city beats all while holding elected officials accountable.
He covered stories that ranged from a DEA drug bust gone bad to an award-winning story on school lunches.
In Arizona, Brent was a freelance writer who covered everything from the importance of citrus in the state to Esteban owning a store in downtown Prescott.
Brent is a 2007 graduate of the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University.
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