Gov. Ducey flies over wildfires north of Tucson as they surpass 150,000 acres burned combined

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GILA COUNTY, Arizona (KVOA) – As the Mescal and Telegraph fires north of Tucson continue to intensify, Governor Doug Ducey visited the affected areas today to provide information on the progress and resources used.

As of Thursday morning, the Telegraph Fire had burned over 85,000 acres and only 40% containment, while the Mescal Fire comprised over 72,000 acres with 64% containment.

The Telegraph Fire has moved quickly to the east and experts said it is only six miles from the Mescal Fire.

“As we begin day five today, it is still a very difficult time for our team and the firefighters who have been out there for these people to get around this fire,” said David Bales, incident commander of the Telegraph Fire.

Ducey had a flyover tour of the affected areas and called up the scene he saw in the air – devastating.

“Numerous communities have been evacuated, houses have been destroyed, people and pets have had to leave their belongings behind,” he said. “It’s a tragedy.”

There are currently 900 firefighters working on the Telegraph Fire and another 600 fighting the Mescal Fire.

Since many small towns are under evacuation orders, five buildings have already been lost. One of these houses was that of the spokesman Rusty Bowers near the Miami-Globe.

“Our focus is on you, that’s our focus,” said Bowers. “We can’t rebuild my house next week, it will take a while, but we will rebuild it, just like those who (also) lost.”

The governor says he is calling a special meeting to make sure the resources are in place to fight these fires.

“It is imperative that we continue to focus our efforts on these fires so that we can contain them and prevent further injury, loss or suffering in our communities,” said Ducey.

The governor has already issued two emergency statements in response to these two fires and allocated $ 400,000 for response measures.

He added that no expense is spared to protect these communities.

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