A wind-driven wildfire prompted the evacuation of approximately 100 homes in the Rio Verde Foothills area on Tuesday afternoon June 27.

According to the InciWeb fire management information system, the fire began about 5 p.m. near 130th Street and Ranch Gate Road in Scottsdale. The cause was still under investigation as of June 28.

The fire spread to 1,960 acres burning through grass and brush in the area dotted by numerous large homes and livestock properties. This is a reduction to the number of acres originally reported due to more precise mapping.

Reports of structural damage were minimal. There was one report of a secondary structure lost to the fire.

The evacuation was estimated to impact more than 1,000 people who were sent to an evacuation center at Cactus Shadows High School in Scottsdale. The area evacuated was bounded by 128th Street, Rio Verde Drive, Jomax Road and 160th Street. The evacuation was lifted by late Wednesday, June 28.

Maricopa County Sheriffs’ Office reported they were on the scene through late Tuesday in assisting with the evacuation and patrolled the area throughout the night.

There were as many as 300 firefighters on the scene with an aerial attack that included large air tankers, very large air tankers and lead plane. The air attack worked to slow the fire’s movement. Hand crews with the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management and federal agencies worked to cut line breaks along the east flank. There were 25 to 30 fire engines engaged in structure protection.

Fire officials reported the fire remained within its initial footprint through Wednesday, June 28, with some flare-ups throughout the day with hand crews and water drops from helicopters addressing those.

Containment was being accomplished although the exact percentage was uncertain as of this writing.