Entire Arizona Town Evacuated Due To Wildfire In Windy Conditions
By Ginny Reese
April 9, 2021
Approximately 1,000 residents have been evacuated from a southern Arizona community due to a wildfire in windy conditions, reported The Weather Channel.
On Thursday afternoon, all of the residents in the community of Dudleyville, about 100 miles southeast of Phoenix and 62 miles north of Tucson, were told to leave because of the fire.
The blaze, called the Margo Fire, had already destroyed two buildings by early Thursday evening.
Winds in the area were gusting up to 35 miles per hour, and there were very dry conditions.
The National Weather Service in Tucson tweeted, "It's going to be a challenging afternoon for firefighting efforts at the Margo Fire in Dudleyville. Expect sustained westerly winds of about 20 mph and gusts 30-35 mph with relative humidity values around 10%."
There was a shelter set up for evacuees in a high school in the nearby town of Kearny.
The fire is reportedly moving south.
#MargoFire in #Dudleyville is est. 150 acres & moving to the south. Burning actively w/n salt cedar pushing up thick, black smoke. Dudleyville in GO status per @PinalCSO. Two primary structures lost with approx. 75 threatened. 📷Air Attack. #AZFire #AZForestry @PinalCountyOEM pic.twitter.com/JYWCmdphnU
— AZ State Forestry (@azstateforestry) April 8, 2021
The National Weather Service stated that though there were snow storms in the high country earlier in 2021, the current conditions for fire threats are abnormally high.
The current conditions are "above normal" fire threats for April in areas of lower elevation.
The entire state is expected to be at above normal and significant wildfire danger by June.
Photo: Getty Images