(UPDATED 6 p.m.) About 300 residents have been evacuated in Kearny because of a brush fire that started this afternoon. The fire has burned about 300 acres.
Several out buildings and at least two residences near the dry river bed where the fire began have burned, officials said.
The fire is burning south in the river bed. There is zero percent containment as of 6 p.m., officials said.
The Arizona Department of Transportation said Arizona 177 is closed from mileposts 138-145 because of the brush fire.
Officials have called in two single-engine air tankers and two helicopters to battle the Kearny River Fire, which broke out in a dry Gila River bed of salt cedar west of the town.
About 100 homes in the Stevens Trailer Park south of Kearny were part of the evacuation orders. The same trailer park was evacuated in a fire in 2013.
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About 200 people, 20 engines and 5 water tenders have been assigned to the fire.
The cause of the fire has not been determined. Eight fire departments and a host of state and federal agencies are involved in fighting the fire.
The American Red Cross said it will be setting up a shelter for displaced residents at Superior High School, 100 W. Mary Drive, in Superior. The shelter will open at 6 p.m.
State Sen. Barbara McGuire, who lives in Kearny and is a lifelong local resident, said she was aware of three structures burned by the fire.
“As I was coming back from Superior (to Kearny) and coming back up over the divide, I saw this huge plume of smoke that looked like a volcano erupting,” she said. “And my heart just skipped a beat because my family members are all here, my relative are all here, and I have all my animals in the local stable here.”
McGuire, D-Kearny, said around 11:30 a.m. she was at a chamber of commerce meeting in Superior, about 20 miles from Kearny, when people started sending her images of the fire on her phone.
She immediately called Pinal County Emergency Services and rushed home to Kearny,a community of about 3,000 people.
The last major fire in the area was the lightning-caused Shipman Fire in June 2013, which burned 518 acres including one home and some other structures.
“It’s as bad if not worse as the Shipman Fire that we had a couple of years ago,” McGuire said. “But I will commend all the firefighters and the first responders, they’re doing an excellent job with what they’ve got, they’re a fine-tuned machine, they’re coordinating very well.”
“I don’t anticipate they’ll have this out tonight or anytime soon - it’s not going to be a quick fix,” she said.
McGuire said many people in the area own livestock, complicating evacuation efforts.
“My main concern is that property is protected, lives are not lost and everybody hopefully finds their animals,” McGuire said.
The state senator said the community has a tradition of sticking together in tough times.
“People band together very well here, this community is one big family, and the outlying communities always some to our aid, we always pull together and I have faith these guys are going to keep up safe,”
The Pinal County Sheriff's Office said there have been no reports of any injuries. The agency said 25 deputes and 30 other officers from the Arizona Department of Public Safety and local agencies are providing law enforcement for the fire area.
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