Wind Advisory
from SAT 12:00 PM MST until SAT 10:00 PM MST, Western Pima County including Ajo/Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Tohono O'odham Nation including Sells, Upper Santa Cruz River and Altar Valleys including Nogales, Tucson Metro Area including Tucson/Green Valley/Marana/Vail, South Central Pinal County including Eloy/Picacho Peak State Park, Southeast Pinal County including Kearny/Mammoth/Oracle, Upper San Pedro River Valley including Sierra Vista/Benson, Eastern Cochise County below 5000 ft including Douglas/Wilcox, Upper Gila River and Aravaipa Valleys including Clifton/Safford, White Mountains of Graham and Greenlee Counties including Hannagan Meadow, Galiuro and Pinaleno Mountains including Mount Graham, Chiricahua Mountains including Chiricahua National Monument, Dragoon/Mule/Huachuca and Santa Rita Mountains including Bisbee/Canelo Hills/Madera Canyon, Santa Catalina and Rincon Mountains including Mount Lemmon/Summerhaven, Baboquivari Mountains including Kitt Peak, Kofa, Central La Paz, Aguila Valley, Southeast Yuma County, Gila River Valley, Northwest Valley, Tonopah Desert, Gila Bend, Buckeye/Avondale, Cave Creek/New River, Deer Valley, Central Phoenix, North Phoenix/Glendale, New River Mesa, Scottsdale/Paradise Valley, Rio Verde/Salt River, East Valley, Fountain Hills/East Mesa, South Mountain/Ahwatukee, Southeast Valley/Queen Creek, Superior, Northwest Pinal County, West Pinal County, Apache Junction/Gold Canyon, Tonto Basin, Mazatzal Mountains, Pinal/Superstition Mountains, Sonoran Desert Natl Monument, San Carlos, Dripping Springs, Globe/Miami, Southeast Gila County

Buckeye officials warn of SR85 bridge danger

Video from a few days ago showed a quick moving wildfire that jumped the freeway, burning several vehicles.

It was a nightmare scenario straight out of a Hollywood movie, only this was reality.

Buckeye Fire's chief worries the same thing could happen on state Route 85, too many salt cedar trees, or ammunition for a fast moving fire.

Salt cedars grow fast, they are like a sponge, and they are totally clogging up this part of the lower Gila River.

"The salt cedars are taller than the bridge, and they grow underneath it, they produce heat if they burn, cause moisture in the concrete which turns to steam, that will heat up the metal and render the bridge useless," said Bob Costello, Buckeye Fire Chief.

In other words the bridge could collapse, be the scene of a catastrophic fire, or trap floodwaters which would threaten nearby homes.

"The fire and/or flood like in California can happen here, we need a state of emergency to get the bridge cleaned out, to get the water to run on both sides hopefully," said Buckeye Mayor Jackie Meck.

Cleaning up the 18 miles of overgrowth along the lower Gila won't be cheap.

"Probably 150 to 300 million dollars is the estimate, and those numbers are for buying the property, I don't know, we have to buy the property," said Meck.