Evacuation rescinded as wildfire near Florence controlled; 1 home burned
A small wildfire prompted a brief evacuation order for 12 homes in a rural subdivision outside Florence on Wednesday afternoon before the order was rescinded.
Meanwhile, state forestry officials imposed restrictions on state trust lands in Gila, Maricopa and Pinal counties, effective Thursday.
It's unclear if any of the residents of a square block in the Cactus Forest area near Florence actually left, said Lauren Reimer, public information officer for the Pinal County Sheriff's Office. Sheriff's deputies knocked on the doors of several homes to advise them to leave as a wildfire of unknown origin advanced.
The evacuation order was canceled an hour later, with residents told to be in "set" status, meaning they should be prepared to leave on short notice.
"There were still some hotspots out there," Reimer said of the need for the "set" advisory.
One house in the area was destroyed, Reimer said. The residents refused services from the Red Cross. She added it remains to be known if the wildfire engulfed the house or if the house fire touched off the wildfire.
State fire officials said the blaze, called the Pinebrooke Fire, covered about eight acres in an area about six miles south of Florence and west of State Route 79. The fire was moving to the northeast but its advance was slowing as crews from the state Department of Forestry and Fire Management and the town of Florence fought the fire. By early evening Wednesday, the department said the fire was 35% contained.
The dry conditions that allowed the fire to spread prompted the state forestry department to impose restrictions on state trust lands in the three counties. The stage one restrictions bar campfires of all fuel types except for liquid petroleum or LPG fuels, unless the campfires or stoves are used in a developed campsite or picnic ground.
The restrictions also bar fireworks and tools with an open fire. Smoking is limited to indoor or enclosed areas, or spaces with a cleared three-foot radius. More details can be found here.
State officials cited an uptick in fire activity in the three counties as the reason for the restrictions.
Reach the reporter at maryjo.pitzl@arizonarepublic.com or at 602-228-7566 and follow her on Threads as well as on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter @maryjpitzl.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: 8-acre wildfire claims 1 home, prompts brief evacuation order
