Buckeye brush fire: State Route 85 closed as blaze moves west

BUCKEYE, Ariz. - Buckeye Fire Department crews are fighting a 160 acre brush fire in the river bottom at Hazen and Rooks roads.

As a precaution, State Route 85 was shut down near Buckeye due to the fire's westward movement. The Arizona Department of Transportation says motorists are advised to expect delays and seek an alternate route.

"There is no estimated time to reopen the highway," stated ADOT officials.

"The fire is approximately six acres and difficult to access. There are no immediate reports of exposures at this time," stated Assistant Fire Chief Rayne Gray.

Nick Lyons, a Battalion Chief of the Goodyear Fire Department, added, "Goodyear crews are among several West Valley departments assigned to this incident."

Gray confirmed to FOX 10 that there are no evacuations in the area at this time and "Arizona Public Service has de-energized power lines in the area as a safety measure. Some damage to electrical infrastructure has been sustained; however, the extent of outages is currently unknown."

BFD officials say firefighters are allowing the fire to burn through available fuels in a controlled manner while maintaining containment lines.

"The operational objective is to stop the fire’s forward progress at an established fire break located west of the current fire edge."

At this time:

• No evacuations have been ordered.
• Residents in the area are advised to shelter in place.
• The public is strongly encouraged to avoid the area to allow emergency crews to operate safely and effectively.

This is a developing story. Stay with FOX 10 News for updates.

Map of the area