Evacuations were ordered in north Scottsdale Tuesday afternoon as a fast-moving brush fire threatened neighborhoods.
More than 1,000 people were under evacuation orders Tuesday night, officials said.
Officials shut down eastbound traffic at 128th Street and Ranch Gate Road as the Diamond Fire raged nearby.
According to the Scottsdale Police Department, the fire was moving east toward McDowell Mountain Regional Park, and evacuations are being announced for that area:
East of 136th Street, south of Rio Verde Drive, west of 152nd Street and north of Jomax Road.
The fire broke out around 5:15 p.m. and within hours had burned through 3.9 square miles of land without any containment, firefighters said.
Carlos Aguirre lives in a new community north of Scottsdale and said his wife called saying their community was being evacuated.
“She came out and didn’t get the dog, so we’re a little nervous,” he said.
Brendan Birdoes said he is building a house in the area that was being evacuated.
“Our friend told us this was happening,” Birdoes said. “I was out here mountain biking and so we went out to see what was going on.”
No homes had been burned and no injuries were reported. There was no immediate word on what caused the fire.
Scottsdale Fire Capt. David Folio said at a news conference that the fire started in Scottsdale but has since moved to county and state lands to the east and the site of command has been turned over to the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management.
Officials have not been able to assess the damage, Forest Department spokeswoman Tiffany Davila said.
“The fire was too active,” he said. “It was producing erratic fire behavior.”
The fire has been fueled by grass and brush that dries quickly once things start to warm up, Davila said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
