Wildfire near Superior now has tripled in size since Friday

SUPERIOR, Ariz. (AP) — A human-caused wildfire in east-central Arizona near Superior continues to grow and remains uncontained.

The blaze that’s been burning for a week now in the Tonto National Forest has charred about 57 square miles (147 square kilometers) of grass and brush in rugged terrain as of Sunday morning.

The fire has tripled in size since Friday due to hot and dry conditions.

It’s now about 5 miles northwest of Superior. But authorities say there are no threats yet to the communities of Queen Valley Estates, Gold Canyon, Kings Ranch, Superior and Apache Junction.

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Incident management officials say firefighting efforts on the fire’s north end will concentrate on protecting campgrounds, infrastructure, powerlines and businesses along State Highway 88.

More than 720 firefighters and other personnel are assigned to the blaze.