Nearly 150 miles of highways closed in Eastern and Southern Arizona due to fires

Several highways remain closed due to wildfires

Wallow Fire in eastern Arizona forces most closures

                                                                                          

PHOENIX – Several major wildfires burning across the state have closed nearly 150 miles of highways in the eastern and southern Arizona, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation.

 

The Wallow Fire in eastern Arizona near Alpine has scorched nearly 200,000 acres since it started on May 29. ADOT wants to remind motorists traveling in the area that the following closures on state highways remain in effect:

 

• State Route 373, a 4.5 mile-long highway that connects the town of Greer in eastern Arizona with SR 260 west of Eagar, was closed Monday afternoon.
• US 191 is closed between Alpine and north of Clifton (mileposts 176-253).
• SR 261 and 273, the main access roads to Big Lake and Crescent Lake in the White Mountains, are closed. SR 261 is closed starting approximately seven miles south of SR 260 to Crescent Lake (mileposts 395-413) and SR 273 is closed between Sunrise Park and Big Lake (mileposts 383-394).
• US 180 is closed between the SR 260 junction near Eagar and the New Mexico state line (mileposts 403-433).

Two major wildfires are active in southern Arizona, including the Murphy Fire, which has claimed nearly 40,000 acres in the Coronado National Forest near Rio Rico and the Horseshoe Two Fire, which has engulfed over 100,000 acres in Cochise County near Portal. The following closures remain in effect for southern Arizona:

 

• SR 289 is closed along mileposts 2-10, approximately two miles north of the Interstate 19 junction.
• SR 366 is closed at milepost 118 leading up to Mount Graham near Safford after the U.S. Forest Service determined the risk of wildfire is too extreme to allow access to the public.

There is no estimated time to reopen the highways, according to ADOT.

 

Additional information on the Wallow Fire, Horseshoe Two Fire and Murphy Fire can be obtained through the Arizona Division of Emergency Management at http://www.azein.gov. To stay up-to-date on the latest highway conditions around the state, please visit the ADOT Traveler Information Center at www.az511.gov or call 5-1-1.