ISLAMABAD - It is still relatively early in the wildfire season out West but already wildfires are crossing the state of Arizona and heading into New Mexico. Four large wildfires were captured by the Aqua satellite. Three of them are in Arizona and one is inside the state line of New Mexico.
The Bush Fire is by far the largest of the four at 114,941 and is only 5 percent contained. This fire began and it has been determined that this fire was human-caused. The Bush Fire is located in the Tonto National Forest, about 8 miles northeast of Mesa, Ariz. along Hwy 87. Due to the growth of the fire and its movement near communities Emergency Management Services in Gila and Maricopa counties are evacuating Apache Lake, Sunflower, Punkin Center and Tonto Basin. Weather concerns regarding fire growth include hot, dry conditions, coupled with increased winds which will continue to push the fire to the north, northeast, and southeast. There is also an abundance of fuel for the fire with invasive grasses in the desert ecosystem, native grasses and low fuel moisture in the live plants.