US: Arizona residents asked to evacuate as several wildfires burn across state
Jul 24, 2023
Arizona [US], July 24 : Residents in parts of Arizona were on Sunday ordered to evacuate as firefighters battled several wildfires across the state amid extreme temperatures, CNN reported.
Authorities said that a total of 160 residents were ordered to evacuate from the Sunflower area in Arizona’s Maricopa County on Sunday as a wildfire burned in the Tonto National Forest.
Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Joaquin Enriquez told CNN that deputies evacuated residents and advised them to head to Fountain Hills where an evacuation center was set up.
Maricopa County Emergency Management spokesperson Ron Coleman said: “At this point, the fire is burning in place and crews will monitor and continue some firefighting overnight. Additional firefighting will continue in the morning.”
Sunflower is about 58 miles northeast of Phoenix, which hit 24 straight days of temperatures at or above 110 degrees, according to a tweet from the National Weather Service. The city saw a high of 114 degrees Sunday, according to CNN,
Over 100 miles away in Yavapai County, where six active wildfires were burning, residents of the community of Cherry were also ordered to flee on Sunday.
“The RACETRACK Fire is threatening your area. Please evacuate now,” the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office said in a “go message” to residents Sunday night.
A special weather statement was in effect for parts of Yavapai County for wind gusts up to 50 mph on Sunday, and the National Weather Service had warned residents to “Expect wind shifts for the Grapevine and Race Track fires.”
As per CNN, the fires come amid Arizona’s weeks-long battle with extreme heat, with excessive heat warnings in place across much of central and southern parts of the state on Sunday.
So far, at least 18 confirmed heat-related deaths have been recorded in Maricopa County, with another 69 cases under investigation, according to data from the Maricopa County Department of Public Health.
