Wildfire claims 6 homes near Arizona town, shuts Phoenix-to-Las Vegas highway

PHOENIX — A wildfire near an Arizona community destroyed at least six homes, prompted overnight evacuations and closed the main highway between Phoenix and Las Vegas before an army of firefighters arrived to douse the flames, a fire official said Thursday.

No injuries were reported after the fire, which was reported Wednesday around 4 p.m. and spread quickly through the greenery of the Hassayampa River and across U.S. 60, a four-lane highway just south of Wickenburg, said Tiffany Davila, spokesperson for the Arizona Department of Forestry. and Fire Management. An investigative team was investigating the cause of the fire, which Davila said had not yet been determined.

The highway remained closed, but Davila said evacuation orders for residents were lifted before noon. An aerial survey showed 166 acres burned.

Davila said cooler overnight temperatures, a rise in humidity and the arrival of about 200 local, state and federal firefighters helped extinguish the blaze, along with planes scooping water from a nearby reservoir to burst into flames.

There was no immediate containment estimate, but Davila said officials reduced the number of homes considered threatened from 100 late Wednesday to about 25 on Thursday.

“As temperatures rise, we may see fire activity increase,” she added.

The fire occurs because heat warnings are still in effect after several hours days with record high temperatures across a wide swath of the southwestern US. The National Weather Service predicts it could be early July before monsoon rains provide relief from hot, dry weather.

In Phoenix, 51 miles (83.6 kilometers) southeast of Wickenburg, forecasters warned Thursday of excessive heat and “dangerously hot” weather through Sunday, with daytime temperatures expected to reach 112 Fahrenheit (44.4 degrees Celsius).