Highlights

The Hazen Fire in Buckeye held at 10% containment Tuesday evening after burning an estimated 1,138 acres since igniting near Hazen and Rooks roads, east of State Route 85, just before 4 p.m. Saturday, according to KTAR News 92.3 FM. The Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management confirmed crews maintained that threshold without needing additional firing operations overnight.

Tiffany Davila of the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management told KTAR that containment is concentrated on one side of the blaze: "That containment is on the southwest flank of the fire." Crews made significant progress Monday as cooler temperatures, increased cloud cover and lighter winds created a much-needed opening to strengthen containment lines, officials said. Burnout operations along SR 85 were completed successfully on Sunday.

The fight has been complicated by terrain. Firefighters are working through dense vegetation in the Gila River bottom, including salt cedar, where three dozers and multiple hand crews are operating. A third hand crew arrived Tuesday to support night shift operations. A helicopter dropped 87 buckets — approximately 20,000 gallons of water — on the east end of the fire Tuesday. Engines, air tankers, Bureau of Land Management air support and an incident management team are also deployed.

Davila told KTAR that crews are moving quickly to consolidate gains before conditions deteriorate. "They're going to take advantage over today's shift, tonight's shift and make sure that we're strengthening all those containment lines and they're going to hold in the event of the upcoming warmer temperatures and windier conditions," she said. The fire's cause remains under investigation.

A temporary flight restriction is in effect for all non-firefighting aircraft, including drones. The containment figure and acreage have been independently confirmed by AZFamily and KYMA. Maricopa County residents can sign up for emergency notifications at the county's alert portal. Containment updates are expected as weather conditions shift later this week.

Sources

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  1. ktar.com retrieved 2026-05-06T08:10:44.945623+00:00

Authored by the_wire. Drafted by AI from primary-source material under our beat-specific editorial guides; reviewed by humans before publish under our five-gate process. Sources retrieved at 2026-05-06T08:10:44.945623+00:00. Every claim traces to a source.