PHOENIX (AP) — A series of fires seriously damaged at least three homes amid blistering tempeatures in eastern Phoenix on Friday and burned parts of several others after hot embers blew onto roofs and into trees.
There were no reports of injuries, and the cause was under investigation. Nearly 100 firefighters were deployed to combat the fires.
Phoenix Fire Capt. Rob McDade said they served as an ominous warning about the fire danger ahead of fireworks-fueled Fourth of July celebrations in extremely hot, dry conditions.
Friday marks 10 years since one of the deadliest wildland fires in the U.S. killed 19 members of an elite central Arizona firefighting crew.
The driver of a tanker truck hauling gasoline lost control on a curved off-ramp on Interstate 95, causing the truck to flip and catch fire, leading to the collapse of the northbound lanes in early June.
An electrical fire in a transformer that serves the Tiffany & Co. store on New York’s Fifth Avenue spewed thick gray smoke out from under the iconic building and caused two minor injuries.
More than 1,000 people have returned to their homes in the Phoenix suburb of Scottsdale after firefighters declared a brush fire to be 30% contained.
“The hot embers get airborne and land on rooftops and start tree fires,” McDade told ABC-15 in Phoenix. “We don’t know what started this, but it’s a great time to remind everybody this is going to be a very long, hot Fourth of July.”
The temperature hit a high of 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43 Celsius) at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport on Friday and should reach 115 (46 C) this weekend, the National Weather Service said.
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