Diamond Fire: The latest on the wildfire in Scottsdale, Arizona
July 5: Diamond Fire 100% contained
The Diamond Fire in north Scottsdale near the McDowell Mountain Regional Park is now fully contained and controlled.
The fire that started last week and grew to nearly 2,000 acres was human-caused.
The Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management is still investigating its origins.
All resources on site have been released.
June 30: Fire 60% contained
The Diamond Fire is nearing its end. The blaze in north Scottsdale was at 60% containment as of Friday morning.
“We’re at a point that we can say that we’re confident. We’re going to be increasing containment more so over the next couple of days. And we’ll get to 100% containment probably by the end of the weekend, beginning of next week," said Tiffany Davila with the Department of Forestry and Fire Management.
Davila also says no injuries have been reported and no primary structures were lost.
The Diamond Fire was human caused and the investigation is ongoing.
June 29: Diamond Fire 30% contained
More than 1,100 people have returned to their homes in north Scottsdale as firefighters declared a brush fire to be 30% contained.
The Arizona Department of Forestry lifted evacuation orders around 7 p.m. Wednesday. A state forestry spokesperson said one secondary structure has been destroyed, but no injuries have been reported.
Scottsdale officials said 1,145 people evacuated about 100 homes Tuesday evening when the fire broke out. Fueled by grass and brush, it grew to 3 square miles, fire officials said after crews finished digging a containment line.
June 28: More than 1,000 people remain evacuated
More than 1,100 people remain evacuated from their homes Wednesday evening as Arizona fire officials determine if a containment line will hold up in windy conditions.
Crews successfully dug a containment line overnight around the brush fire in northern Scottsdale, a city just east of Phoenix, that has burned 3.9 square miles and threatened about 100 homes.
Scottsdale officials said 1,145 people remain evacuated.
June 28: Crews form perimeter as fire grows to 2,500 acres
Fire crews have successfully formed a perimeter around the Diamond Fire near McDowell Mountain Regional Park in north Scottsdale. It still hasn’t been contained.
The fire has grown to about 2,500 acres.
Officials say flames and smoke may be visible throughout the day as parts of the Diamond Fire continue to burn through grass and brush between 120th and 164th streets.
1,100 residents have been evacuated since fire broke out Tuesday evening, though no one had used the Red Cross shelter at Cactus Shadows High School as of Wednesday morning.
Tiffany Davila with the Department of Forestry and Fire Management says hiking in the area has also come to a halt.
“Some parks, some trails within the Scottsdale Trail system like Tom's Thumb. Those are also closed, so people before they go out, please check with the City of Scottsdale to make sure that those areas aren't aren't shut down,” Davila said.
She added that the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office will be patrolling the Rio Verde Corridor to keep people from entering.
June 28: UA professor says lots of biomass brought fire to the Valley
The Show spoke with Molly Hunter, an associate professor at the University of Arizona’s School of Natural Resources, about the Diamond fire and what we can expect with fire conditions around the state.
Hear UA’s Molly Hunter with host Lauren Gilger on The Show
June 28: Shelter at Cactus Shadows High School
A shelter opened at Cactus Shadows High School. There have been no reports of injuries or homes burning thus far.
Tiffany Davila with the Department of Forestry and Fire Management said Wednesday morning the blaze has burned nearly four square miles of land without any containment. She warns that people need to keep their personal drones away from the area.
"We have to ground our aircraft if there’s a drone incursion. You can be cited, you can be charged. It’s happened before on fires in Arizona, and it’s really important for the safety of everyone involved, for the protection of the public, the homes we’re trying to protect, that you just please not fly your drone," said Davila.
June 28: Crews dig containment line around fire
Crews have successfully dug a containment line around a brush fire in northern Scottsdale that has burned 3.9 square miles (10 square kilometers) and threatened dozens of home, authorities said Wednesday.
Fire officials said some 1,100 people will remain evacuated from their homes until it’s determined that the containment line will hold up in expected windy conditions.
Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management spokesperson Tiffany Davila said the cause of the fire is under investigation.
June 28: Diamond Fire in Scottsdale threatens homes; more than 1,000 people told to evacuate
A brushfire threatened dozens of homes in northern Scottsdale and prompted evacuations as about 250 firefighters aided by air tankers battled the blaze, fire officials said.
More than 1,000 people were under evacuation orders Tuesday night, authorities said.
The blaze, called the Diamond Fire, broke out at around 5:15 p.m. and within hours had burned 3.9 square miles of land without any containment, fire officials said. The fire was near McDowell Mountain Regional Park.
Carlos Aguirre lives in a new community in north Scottsdale and said his wife called saying that their community was being evacuated.
“She got out and didn’t take the dog so we’re a little nervous,” he said.
Brendan Birdoes said he is building a home in the area that was being evacuated.
“Our friend told us this was happening," Birdoes said. “He was out here mountain biking and so we came out to see what was going on.”
No homes had burned and no injuries were reported. There was no immediate word on what sparked the fire.
Scottsdale Fire Capt. David Folio said at a news conference that the fire began in Scottsdale but has since moved into county and state lands to the east and the command post has been turned over to the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management.
Officials have not been able to assess damage, forestry department spokesperson Tiffany Davila said.
“The fire was just too active,” she said. “It was producing erratic fire behavior.”
The fire has been fueled by grass and brush that dry out quickly once things start to warm up, Davila said.
“We’re about a month behind,” she said. “This is the activity that we usually see in May. But because we had all of that winter and spring moisture, we’re delayed for our start. So now is really the time we could start seeing an uptick in our fire activity.”
The fire comes as drifting smoke from wildfires across Canada is creating curtains of haze and raising air quality concerns this week throughout the Great Lakes region and in parts of the central and eastern United States.
