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Brush fire north of Phoenix forces evacuation of 250 people

3 years 10 months 1 week ago Monday, May 18 2020 May 18, 2020 May 18, 2020 9:58 PM May 18, 2020 in News
Source: ABC News

PHOENIX - High speed winds in a town near Phoenix caused a brush fire that forced close to 250 people to evacuate.

According to ABC News, no homes were damaged but the fire came within 100 yards of some house. Other evacuated homes were less than a mile from the blaze.

“We’re anticipating a lot of wind and that could drive the fire quite a bit,” said Paul Schickel, a spokesman for the Daisy Mountain Fire Department.

Authorities said nearly 400 personnel should be working the fire by Tuesday, including additional aircrafts and 10 extra engines as crews work to keep the fire from spreading.

In addition to building containment lines, crews were clearing brush while aircraft were dropping retardant and water.

The fire, which is under investigation and believed to be human-caused, started Sunday. Winds picking up caused fire to spread further over a mountain and toward neighborhoods.

Another complicating factor was the density of vegetation, which had grown significantly thicker due to heavy rains last year.

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