Crews responded to a new wildfire in Cochise County on Thursday, May 14.
The Cochise County Sheriff’s Office said the Yaqui Fire was around 50 acres as of 5 p.m. The cause of the fire is under investigation, and there was no apparent containment with winds of more than 20 mph being reported in the area.
It is located southwest of the Coronado National Memorial, which is on federal land.
The CCSO said deputies are shutting down the road to Montezuma Pass due to the fire. Montezuma Canyon Road was closed from the park boundary to Montezuma Pass.
The fire is in the same general area as the Monument Fire, which burned more than 5,000 acres and destroyed dozens of homes in 2011. Crews are attacking the fire quickly, and the CCSO said it hopes they can knock it down quickly due to the current weather conditions.
According to the 13 News First Alert Weather Team, there is no rain in the forecast in southern Arizona for the next three days. Also, the humidity is expected to be low (under 15%) with winds around 10 mph.
