The Telegraph Fire, which is approximately one and a half miles from the town of Superior, has burned at least 85,901 acres and is 40 percent contained, according to data from the national InciWeb wildfire information system. Over the past week, the Telegraph Fire has continued to grow in size, as fire officials reported on Monday that it had burned at least 56,626 acres.
On Thursday night, fire officials reported that the Telegraph Fire had damaged/destroyed at least 20 structures, which was an increase of 15 from earlier that morning.
Dean McAlister, a spokesperson for the incident command center for the fire in Apache Junction previously told AZ Central that the Telegraph Fire was the ninth-largest wildfire in Arizona history.
Residents in the town of Miami were allowed to return to their homes on Thursday after being evacuated. Fire officials also lowered the evacuation status from “Set” to “Ready” for residents living in Superior and the area of Battle Axe.
The Telegraph Fire was first reported on June 4 and its cause remains under investigation.
Just East of the Telegraph Fire, Arizona is battling the Mescal Fire, which has also grown in size over the past week.
According to data from InciWeb, as of Friday, the Mescal Fire has burned at least 72,250 acres and is 77 percent contained. On Monday, fire officials reported that the Mescal Fire burned approximately 49,631 acres.
While the Mescal Fire has continued to grow in size over the past week, fire officials reported on Thursday that it had reached “most containment lines.”
“Fire activity on the Mescal Fire has reduced to moderate over the course of the last 24 hours, as fire spread has reached most containment lines. Crews continue to hold and improve containment lines across the affected area,” fire officials said on InciWeb but noted that, “While fire activity is beginning to moderate, a high potential still exists for active to extreme fire behavior.”
The Mescal Fire was first reported on June 1 and officials are continuing to investigate its cause.
As fire officials have been able to increase the containment percentage of the Mescal Fire, residents living near El Capitan were allowed to return home on Thursday after being ordered to evacuate.
In a video posted to Twitter by ABC News, a firefighting aircraft can be seen assisting with the containment of the fire.
Arizona Governor Doug Ducey wrote in a tweet on Thursday in response to both fires burning over 150,000 acres across Pinal County and Gila County. He issued “Declarations of Emergency yesterday to ensure our firefighters and everyone on the frontlines have the resources and support they need to contain these fires & protect Arizonans.”
