PHOENIX — Woodbury Fire continues to burn in Central Arizona Monday and remains zero percent contained, officials said.
The fire is burning northwest of Superior, Arizona and east of Apache Junction in a remote area near Woodbury Trailhead.
The fire grew from 500 acres Sunday to 3,000 acres on Monday evening and is now 5,000 acres as of Tuesday morning, according to Tonto National Forest Officials.
Officials said Monday 75 firefighters were battling the blaze, the smoke from which is visible from Highway 60, Gold Canyon and Queen Valley. More firefighters will join from the Mountain Fire as it gets more contained.
As of 6 a.m. Tuesday, a Type 3 Incident Management Team was assigned to the fire and the number of personnel battling the fire will likely grow.
Tonto National Forest officials said a weather disturbance moving into the area is causing shifting wind patterns and making firefighting efforts more difficult for crews.
The public is asked to avoid the following areas to allow firefighters to safely build the fire lines:
- Hewitt Station Road
- Happy Camp Canyon Road
- Hewitt Canyon Road
- Woodbury Trail
- Roger's Canyon Trail
- Coffee Flat Trail
The list above is not all-inclusive, but it should give the public a general idea of where firefighters are working, forest officials said.
The Woodbury Fire was not threatening any homes as of Monday.
Superior is located about 60 miles east of Phoenix and lies on the base of the Superstition Mountains.
The fire was first reported around 1:30 p.m. Saturday. A cause has not yet been determined.
The wildfire sparked the same day that the Mountain Fire grew to more than 7,200 acres northeast of Cave Creek.