The Bush Fire grew by about 120 acres yesterday. The total acreage of the fire is now estimated at around 186,960 acres. Fire activity still remained limited to pockets of hotspots that continued to burn within the fire perimeter. On satellite, several smoke plumes were noted in the afternoon moving off to the east, becoming more diffuse the further they reached. At the ground, smoke was generally light.

Looking ahead for today and tomorrow, smoke from the fire is expected to follow a similar pattern: it should slowly disperse eastward over the Tonto Basin area and to the north into the Rim Country in the morning (depending on where the hotspots are), then move off to the east in the afternoon. Overnight, smoke is expected to settle into low-lying areas in/around the Tonto Basin area and Roosevelt Lake.

In general, smoke impacts are expected to be light across the region because of the significant decrease in fire activity. However, brief periods of light to moderate smoke may be possible for some areas. Moreover, light smoke may be possible in Fountain Hills in the evening or overnight hours. Any smoke that does fill into low lying areas in/around the fire overnight is forecast to lift out by 9 am Thursday.

Find the wildfire smoke forecast at:
https://www.azdeq.gov/WildfireForecast

Find the Arizona air quality monitor report at
https://www.azdeq.gov/aq/monitorreport