Riverside Fire reaches 100% containment
MARICOPA COUNTY, Ariz. - The Riverside Fire burning in Maricopa County forced those at Bartlett Lake recreational areas to temporarily evacuate.
The Tonto National Forest said on June 17 that Bartlett Dam Road has reopened. Riverside Road/Forest Service Road 19 remains shut down.
Fire crews continue to battle the 178-acre wildfire that sparked on June 16. It's 100% contained as of June 20.
Fire season is early, and its active. This is the third wildfire to hit this area so far this summer, and we’re only halfway through June.
The National Weather Service is predicting the monsoon season will be similar to last year's – hot, dry and windy.
Lakeside residents are preparing for what could be a summer of evacuations and road closures.
"There was a bunch of brush and grass just all kinked together. So once all that stuff started burning, it just looked like a bomb went off, to be honest with you," said Brad Widhalm, fire prevention officer with Tonto National Forest.
The impact of shutting down the marina on Father's Day lingers.
"The sheriff’s got into the helicopter, got up, and said full evacuation, we got to get moving, everybody took off," Brad Kircher, owner of The Cove and Oar House at Bartlett Lake, said.
It’s the second summer holiday now and business owners like Kircher have had to shut down. The first time being around Memorial Day, when the Wildcat Fire burned over 14,000 acres.
Each time, they take the hit financially.
"Most of these are human caused, and that’s the problem. Because there’s really no excuse for that," Bryan Church, owner of Bartlett Lake Marina, said.
Fire crews believe the Riverside Fire was started by a legal campfire. The Wildcat Fire was sparked by target shooting.
The fear is, these unintentional mistakes could balloon into big consequences, as another dry monsoon season takes its grip on the region.
"In 2020, we were in fire restrictions until November. So, it’s kind of shaping up to be one of those seasons. You just have to be so careful and so aware of what’s happening around you this summer. It's just something that I haven’t seen in a while," Widhalm said.
Humans are not only starting these wildfires, but they’re stopping firefighters from being able to extinguish them.
In the middle of the firefight on Father's Day, crews had to land their aircraft because of a drone. Flying a drone anywhere near a wildfire is illegal.
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