Arizona Woodbury Fire At 44K Acres; Smoke Affects Nearby Cities

PHOENIX, AZ — The Woodbury fire grew to more than 44,000 acres Wednesday as a plume of smoke drifted over several nearby cities and settled into the surrounding canyons. Over 700 firefighters were battling the human-caused inferno, which ignited June 8 and was just 15 percent contained as of 9 a.m. Wednesday, according to the Southwest Area Incident Management Team.

The specific cause of the blaze, located about 45 miles east of Phoenix, remains under investigation.

Officials said at a news conference that the rough terrain in the Superstitious Wilderness presented a challenge to firefighters.

"This terrain in here is very difficult, rugged, so we can't see it all from any road," a spokesman said in a video posted to the U.S. Forest Service's Tonto National Forest Facebook page.

The #WoodburyFire as seen from the Pinto Valley Mine. Thank you Omar Turk for the video you captured! @FOX10Phoenix pic.twitter.com/sDcAVmzLwT
— Christine Goodfriend (@GoodfriendC) June 18, 2019

Firefighters are closely watching to make sure the fire doesn't spread south or west toward homes and businesses. Boat ramps and marinas to the north could become threatened, but the fire seems to be most likely to head east or southeast.

"As we come down the east side of the 188 corridor, we run into a lot more values at risk," the spokesman said, adding that there are large mining operations and multiple homes east and southeast of the blaze in places like Globe, The Top of the World and Miami.

A noticeably thick column of smoke was expected to billow out of the inferno Wednesday, with the heaviest smoke expected to affect parts of the eastern perimeter between Pinto Peak and Mound Mountain, where there's heavier brush, fire officials said. Smoke was expected to be the heaviest Wednesday afternoon and evening, impacting areas from Roosevelt Lake south along Highway 188 to near Claypool, Globe, Miami, and portions of Highway 60 northeast of Globe.

A GIF of satellite images posted by the National Weather Service in Phoenix showed the vast majority of the smoke drifting northeast toward Forest Lakes.

Places as far out as Whiteriver and San Carlos could also see some smoke Wednesday evening into early Thursday.

The #WoodburyFire #fire from a viewpoint in #Sedona #Arizona

Photo Credit: Jonah Ylhainen pic.twitter.com/ZELHgaNuV6
— Jonah Y. (@jonah_ylhainen) June 19, 2019

Fire officials warned that a low-pressure system could bring wind gusts and "critical fire weather" over the flames Wednesday.

"It is possible the weather conditions might approach red flag warning levels by Thursday with sustained wind speeds over 20 miles per hour," the incident management team said in afire update. "Expect increased smoke lingering at Roosevelt Lake with the weather change, particularly at night and early mornings."

On Thursday morning, officials warned smoke could again settle near, Globe, Miami, Roosevelt and parts of Highway 70 near San Carlos, as well as Superior. Southwestern winds could then send smoke northeast into the Highway 188 corridor and into Roosevelt.

The blaze has forced some road closures as well.

State Highway 88 was closed from Needle Vista east to the junction of State Highway 88 and State Highway 188, fire officials said. This includes Tortilla Flat, Canyon Lake, Apache Lake and campsites along State Highway 88.

Woodbury Fire Progression Map - June 19, 2019
PDF: https://t.co/a3L6LGZoar pic.twitter.com/vnCQR2I8Y5
— Tonto NF (@TontoForest) June 19, 2019

The National Weather Service in Phoenix said the Woodbury Fire isn't nearly as large as some of the state's other fires. The Wallow Fire, the largest wildfire in state history, burned more than a half-million acres in 2011. The 2002 Rodeo-Chediski blaze, meanwhile, scorched 468,000 acres and the Cave Creek Complex fire incinerated 243,000 acres.