Evacuations ordered for the Ocotillo Fire near Cave Creek, AZ

(UPDATED at 9:40 a.m. MDT May 31, 2020)

From the Incident Management Team assigned to the Ocotillo Fire near Cave Creek, Arizona, Sunday morning at 8:37:

There was no new growth reported on the Ocotillo Fire overnight and no new structure loss. There is a lot of heat within the interior and in drainages, therefore crews will monitor and patrol those areas to make sure there is no rekindling. Afternoon winds however, could challenge firefighters again, especially within those drainages.

Overnight, crews provided structure protection to homes and worked to build and secure fire line.

An estimated 500 residences were evacuated on Saturday and those evacuation orders remain in place.  An evacuation-area map has been uploaded to this site. The Red Cross has a shelter set up for impacted residents at Cactus Shadows High School. Livestock can be taken to the Cave Creek Memorial Arena.

Today, crews are faced again with hot temperatures, low relative humidity, afternoon winds, and other hazards, including above-ground and underground propane tanks and inaccessible roads.

177 personnel are assigned to the fire from statewide fire departments and districts, including local and federal cooperators.  The fire started Saturday afternoon off Ocotillo Road. At least ten structures were lost; unknown if they are primary or secondary or both. Once it is safe enough to do so, crews will make their way back into the area to assess damage.

The fire was determined to be human-caused and the source is under investigation.

---

(UPDATED at 7 p.m. MDT May 30, 2020)

Here is an updated map of the Ocotillo Fire northwest of Cave Creek, Arizona.

At 5:46 p.m. MDT Arizona State Forestry said in a tweet:

#OcotilloFire at 750 acres. Crews working against hot temps, very day conditions, wind gusts & low RH. In turn, fire is exhibiting signs of extreme fire behavior. ⁦@RedCrossAZ set up a shelter at high school. ⁦⁦@mcsoaz
⁩ will have evac info.

This is a very impressive video of a DC-10 dropping on the fire:

Air tankers are coming in low here in Cave Creek as firefighters try to get a handle on a wildfire burning close to town

Thank you to #azfamily viewer Justine for the video pic.twitter.com/OSXoXJtyQR

— Max Gorden (@Max_Gorden) May 30, 2020

We will update this article as more information becomes available.

---

(Originally published at 4:47 p.m. MDT May 30, 2020)

The Marshall’s Office has issued a mandatory evacuation order for the Ocotillo Fire northwest of Cave Creek, Arizona.

Jim Cross, Senior News Reporter at KTAR Phoenix, reported that multiple homes have been damaged and others are threatened. At 2:43 p.m. MDT Saturday Arizona State Forestry said the fire had burned about 350 acres.

Firefighting aircraft that have been seen over the fire include air tankers (RJ85, BAe-146, and DC-10) and helicopters, some of which are obtaining water at a golf course.