PHOENIX – Firefighters are still working to suppress the Hazen Fire, which remained active overnight in Buckeye, officials said Monday morning.
The West Valley wildfire ignited on Saturday afternoon and was last measured at 980 acres with no containment.
“We’re trying to get a flight this morning to see if we can get a better acreage update,” Tiffany Davila of the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management told KTAR News 92.3 FM.
The Hazen Fire started near Hazen and Rooks roads, east of State Route 85, just before 4 p.m. on Saturday. The cause has not yet been determined.
Crews conducted successful burnout operations along SR 85 on Sunday. A combination of dozers and hand crews are working to contain the flames as they burn through Gila River bottom terrain that can be difficult for firefighters to reach.
Firefighters are still working to suppress the Hazen Fire, which remained active overnight in Buckeye, officials said Monday morning.
Credit: KTAR reporter/anchor Troy Barrett pic.twitter.com/eijsCtQShL
— KTAR News 92.3 (@KTAR923) May 4, 2026
“The fire stayed active throughout all … last night,” Davila said. “So, it made a push to the northeast about a half a mile to a mile. It’s really burning in that dense salt cedar within that river bottom. It’s being fueled by the dry conditions along with the wind.”
No evacuation orders had been issued as of Monday morning.
“However, if we needed to put a ‘SET,’ which is a pre-evacuation, or an evacuation, which is ‘GO,’ into place, we would work closely with the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office to implement that,” Davila said.
Maricopa County residents can sign up for emergency notifications here.
A temporary flight restriction has been activated in the area for all aircrafts that aren’t part of the firefighting operations, including drones.
Drivers could see Hazen Fire smoke from I-10
The fire has been moving away from SR 85, which was closed for several hours on Saturday, Davila said.
“However, drivers south of the (Interstate) 10 coming into Buckeye should just be mindful just in case if the wind shifts and the … wind starts pushing the smoke over the highway,” she said.
Officials closed some local roads on Sunday to keep them clear for the firefighting efforts.
RELATED STORIES
“That was really just due to a lot of people pulled off wanting to take look at what was going on, and they were impeding traffic, and they were impeding the way of our engines and our resources trying to get to the incident,” Davila said.
The public was advised by the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management that they will see smoke throughout Sunday as vegetation continues to burn.
Arizona Public Service de-energized power lines in the area as a safety measure. Officials said the electrical infrastructure has sustained some damage, though the extent was unknown.
Emergency responders are strongly urging the public to avoid the area.
KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Kellen Shover contributed to this report.
This is an updated version of a story originally published on May 2, 2026.
We want to hear from you.
Have a story idea or tip? Pass it along to the KTAR News team here.
