The Woodbury Fire continued to burn northwest of Superior on Monday and with only 6 percent containment because of the rugged terrainin the Superstitions Wilderness that has made the blaze inaccessible.

Authorities were assessing how winds could spread the fire toward areas where structures could become threatened.

Tonto National Forest officials said late Monday afternoon no evacuation orders were in place, but smoke and ash from the fire would likely impact the Roosevelt and Tonto Basin communities.

The fire has been regularly moving west since it began June 8, according to Operations Section Chief Rick Miller, who creates strategies to fight the fire.

As of Monday, the fire had burned 37,765 acres and remained 0% contained.

“Most likely this fire’s going to burn for a long time,” Miller said.

Fire crews were waiting for the right conditions to move in to aggressively contain it.

When officials started fighting the fire on June 8, they assumed the fire would move slowly at night during the lower temperatures and higher humidity.

However, humidity levels were low so the fire did not slow down, and doubled its size in seven hours, according to Fire Behavior Analyst Arthur Gonzales.

The Woodbury Fire was human caused, and the start of the fire was under investigation. The fire reached its size due to the terrain, the winter rains and the heat.

“The Woodbury Fire is burning in the most rugged, difficult terrain,” Tonto Basin District Ranger Kelly Jardine said. “It’s difficult to access, it’s a very bad place to have a fire.”

Arizona had record precipitation during the winter, bringing the state out of a drought and allowing grass to grow. However, with the triple-digit temperatures, the grass dried out and fueled the flames.

“If that wasn’t all, another thing that makes this a complex fire is a lot of that country up on top hasn’t seen fire since the ’60s,” Jardine said.

There is a lot of dead, thick overgrown vegetation to burn in the area, which complicates matters.

No immediate threat to communities

There was no immediate threat to the communities of Queen Valley Estates, Gold Canyon, Superior and Apache Junction, according to Woodbury Fire Public Information Officer Pamela Mathis.

"We have lots of crews on that southwestern edge," Mathis said, and there will be a lot of aggressive suppression Monday.

"We want to keep the fire from spreading onto state property and private land," Mathis said. "We want to keep it in the wilderness."

To protect private property, a sprinkler system was added in Tortilla Flat, a restaurant and gift shop located along State Route 88 near Canyon Lake, and a bulldozer line was created at the IV Ranch, according to an update from the Tonto National Forest on Monday.

Communities in the Roosevelt Lake area and communities along the eastern flank of the Superstition Wilderness and in the State Highway 60 corridor are being assessed to determine what infrastructure could need protection, officials said.

Main target areas include the eastern and western sides of the fire,'' Miller said.

"Obviously, the way the wind blows, this east side is a primary concern because that’s which way the wind’s gonna want to blow the fire," Miller said. "Conversely, the west side, the fire is closest to all the houses, and Apache Junction which is very heavily populated so very concerned over there as well."

Residents in the fire's path shared their concern about its progression during a public meeting held by fire officials at the Roosevelt Baptist Church on Sunday.

One of those residents was Sammi Jenkins, whose ranch could burn if the fire continues to spread.

“Everything that they said is going to burn in the next three weeks is our ranch and we — my husband and all of my cousins, my family, my friends — are right now gathering and hauling (our cows) to the house,” Jenkins said. “We’re getting the cows off of the country that’s going to burn.”

Jenkins, who brought her two kids to the meeting, is no stranger to fire and feels prepared after clearing the brush away from her house and moving the animals out of the field. However, she said she feels the effect of the fire.

“I have asthma, and it’s been pretty nasty the last couple of days,” said Jenkins, who was coughing during the meeting.

Roosevelt Estates resident Douglas Smith was also concerned about the smoke.

"My wife has allergies, a lot of allergies," Smith said. "I think it's going to impact her more than it's going to impact me."

The air inside his house was also smokey due to the air conditioner.

"It's 100 degrees and you can't turn on the air because your air conditioner is pulling in smoke," Smith said.

The smoke was not going to let up anytime soon, according to Gonzales. “Expect to see smoke on that hill until you get rain."

The Arizona Department of Transportation shut down State Route 88 in both directions from two miles northeast of Apache Junction to State Route 188 at Roosevelt Lake, where firefighters are currently stationed.

According to Tonto National Forest officials, firefighting efforts on the north end of the fire will concentrate on protecting campgrounds, infrastructure, power lines and businesses along SR 88.

These areas were closed to the public: Tortilla Flat, Canyon Lake, Apache Lake and campsites within the road closure area.

During the closure, drivers from the Phoenix area can reach Roosevelt Lake using US 60 and SR 188, or SR 87 and SR 188, according to ADOT.

These areas remained open to the public: Lower Salt River, Saguaro Lake, Roosevelt Lake, Bartlett Lake and Tonto National Monument Visitor Center.

A community meeting for the Woodbury Fire was scheduled at the United Methodist Church in Gold Canyon for June 18 at 6:00 p.m., according to Tonto National Forest officials.

Firefighter efforts depend on terrain

The fire was beginning to come out of the high terrain into a lower valley, where there is less brush and juniper trees but more grass.

Most of the fire has burned in the Superstitions Wilderness, starting near Rogers Trough and burning over trails, areas firefighters can't reach with their gear, according to Gonzales.

Miller said to fight the fastest-moving section of the fire, officials were considering air and ground resources.

In order for it to be effective, air and ground need to work together, he added, which is impossible where the fire was burning.

In the northern section of the fire, there was nothing firefighters could do until the fire got to lower terrain.

“Our highest probability of success is it coming down into terrain and the lighter fields, and that’s the strategy," Miller said.

Miller felt most comfortable about the eastern and southern sides of the fire, where the fire was holding and moving slowly.

If the fire continues to move east, Miller said that they could easily combat it.

“It’s starting to come out of the real steep stuff so if it does move we can jump in and grab it,” he added.

The firefighter’s base camp was on the western side of the fire on Peralta Road, according to Miller. On that side, he said they were trying to contain the fire using air resources.

“We’ve had a lot of activity (there) in the last few days,” Miller said. “It’s finally backed into an area where we may be able to pin it down just with air resources.”

Around noon on Sunday, heavy air tankers flew into the area to drop fire retardant, and those efforts were followed up with helicopters on Monday, Miller said.

Follow-up retardant drops occurred on the southwest side around Hewitt Ridge and the Iron, White and Pinto Mountains to protect private and public lands including the Quarter Circle Ranch and local communities.

Helicopters also used water drops Monday to stop the fire from spreading to Reavis Canyon and the Arizona Department of Transportation maintenance site north of Fish Canyon.

The air efforts may also be able to stop part of the fire near Buzzards Peak, Miller said, “which would be huge for us, because this thing is going to want to come back to the south and to the west and start moving down towards Apache Junction.”

As of Monday, the fire was being fought by 736 people in 15 different crews with 30 fire engines.