Woodbury Fire causes evacuations at Roosevelt, Arizona

Woodbury Fire wildfire map June 20 2019 — Map of the Woodbury Fire. The red line was the fire perimeter at 11 p.m. MST June 19. The white line was the perimeter about 48 hours before. The red dots represent heat detected by a satellite at 1:47 p.m. MDT June 20, 2019. Click to enlarge.

At 1 p.m. local time June 20 the the Gila County Sheriff’s Office announced an “evacuation alert” for two areas northeast of the Woodbury Fire, Roosevelt and Roosevelt Lake area:

All residents are asked to GO at this time. Go! Evacuate Now. If you are unable to evacuate, call 911.

The west side of the Woodbury Fire is about 12 miles east of the suburbs of Phoenix. Winds over the last several days have pushed the blaze to the east and northeast. At 5 p.m. on Thursday the temperature at a weather station east of Tortilla Flat recorded temperatures in the mid-90s, relative humidity of 10 percent, and WSW winds of 14 mph gusting to 23 mph. The forecast for Tortilla Flat for Friday predicts about the same. (See the map, above, of the Woodbury Fire)

(To see all articles on Wildfire Today about the Woodbury Fire, including the most recent, click HERE.)

Wednesday night the fire was mapped at 50,595 acres. Officials at the Tonto National Forest are not attempting to completely suppress it, but instead are using a variety of strategies.

Satellite photo of smoke from Woodbury Fire — Satellite photo of smoke from the Woodbury Fire at 5:36 p.m. MDT June 20, 2019.

The #WoodburyFire continues its northeasterly march in the #TontoNationalForest with help from high winds. The town of #Roosevelt and nearby #RooseveltLakes have been evacuated as of Thursday afternoon. #azcentral @azcentral #azcphotog #wildlandfire #evacuation pic.twitter.com/dRklZkV0PC

— Tom Tingle (@TomTingle2) June 20, 2019