Pinal County residents return home as Ray Fire burns near Kearny
Forward progress has been stopped
KEARNY, AZ (AZFamily) — Authorities say Pinal County residents can now return home as a wildfire burns northwest of Kearny, and firefighters have made significant progress against the flames.
The Shake Fire and the Ray Fire were both 100% contained on Thursday.
Around 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, crews said they stopped forward progress against the Ray Fire. They were still battling the fire on Wednesday morning, as it is still near homes.
Authorities said the fire is human-caused, and as of Wednesday morning, it burned about 51 acres.
Homeowners that were previously affected by the fires have been returned to READY status, according to the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office.
Earlier Tuesday, the fire led to the closure of southbound State Route 177 near North Old Ray Road. That section of the highway was reopened later that day and remains open.
Residents in the Breezeway and Saguaro mobile home communities near Kearny were told to go into “READY-Prepare Now” evacuation status, the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office said around 11 a.m. Tuesday.
Then, shortly before 2 p.m., the sheriff’s office said all residents north of Snake Drive have been placed in “SET-Be Alert” status. That went to “GO” status less than half an hour later.
Learn more about the statuses here.
The Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management said single-engine air tankers and state hand crews are responding to the fire.
A second fire started in the same area, called the Shake Fire.
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