Highlights
- The Horseshoe Fire northeast of Phoenix reached 80% containment Tuesday night, per Tonto National Forest officials.
- The fire's 233-acre footprint has not grown since it was first mapped the day after igniting near Horseshoe Lake on Thursday.
- Horseshoe Dam Road remains closed from Bartlett Dam Road to Horseshoe Lake under an emergency order expiring June 1.
- The cause of the fire is still under investigation; drone pilots have been warned to stay out of the fire zone.
The Horseshoe Fire northeast of Phoenix reached 80% containment Tuesday night, Tonto National Forest officials said, with interior smoke and isolated heat pockets posing no threat to containment lines.
The brush fire started in the Cave Creek Ranger District of Tonto National Forest near Horseshoe Lake on Thursday afternoon and was mapped at 233 acres the following day. That footprint has not changed. The burn area sits on the west side of the Verde River and on both sides of Horseshoe Dam Road.
An emergency closure order remains in effect for Horseshoe Dam Road from Bartlett Dam Road to its end at Horseshoe Lake, along with several trails in the area. The order expires June 1 unless officials rescind it earlier. Officials have also warned drone pilots to stay away from the fire zone.
The fire's progress has been tracked by AZ Central and AZ Family, both of which reported earlier containment milestones as crews reinforced lines and worked around hot spots.
The cause of the Horseshoe Fire remains under investigation. The emergency closure order is the next scheduled decision point, set for June 1.
Sources
Every factual claim in this article traces to one of the sources below. See how we work for the editorial process.
- ktar.com retrieved 13/05/2026 14:15
- AZ Central retrieved 13/05/2026 14:15
- AZ Family (3TV/CBS5) retrieved 13/05/2026 14:15
Authored by The Scottsdale Signal. 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 13/05/2026 14:15. Every claim traces to a source.
