PHOENIX — Governor Doug Ducey has issued Declarations of Emergency as the Telegraph and Mescal fires continue to rage on east of the Valley.
The governor made the announcement via a series of tweets around 8 a.m. Wednesday.
FIRE UPDATE:
— Doug Ducey (@dougducey) June 9, 2021
Today I’m issuing Declarations of Emergency in response to the #TelegraphFire and #MescalFire, which have burned 146K+ acres and led to many evacuations and road closures. Fire and safety officials are working around the clock to contain these dangerous fires. 1/
"AZ will spare no expense and do what needs to be done to protect the people and property in these communities. These Declarations will make up to $400K available for response efforts, in addition to a Fire Management Assistance Grant approved by @fema following our request," one of the messages said.
Governor Ducey continued: "The Declarations of Emergency and Federal Grants will help make sure responders have the necessary resources for response and recovery — protecting people, pets & property. We will continue to work closely with local officials to ensure the needs of those communities are met."
The fires have burned around 150,000 combined acres near Globe and Superior as of Wednesday morning.
Several structures have been lost, according to fire officials. The Telegraph Fire nearly destroyed the Boyce Thompson Arboretum.
LATEST INFORMATION ON TELEGRAPH, MESCAL FIRES
Telegraph Fire:
Size: 180,685 acres
Containment: 67% contained
Evacuations: GO: El Capitan (east and west), Dripping Springs, Wind Spirit, Hagen Ranch, Slash S Ranch, Government Springs. SET: Bellevue, Beverly Hills, Six Shooter, Icehouse. READY: Top-of-the-World, Oak Flat, Superior, Globe, Miami, Claypool, Central Heights, Pinto/Carlotta, Skill Center, Fairgrounds, Schultz Ranch, Battle Axe, Ray Mine, Riverside, Kearny, Winkleman and Hayden.
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Mescal Fire:
Size: 72,250 acres (no longer considered an active fire)
Containment: 88% contained
Evacuations: GO: None. SET: Skill Center, Beverly Hills, T11 Ranch, Lower Peridot, South Peridot. READY: San Carlos, Coyote Flats/San Carlos High School area
