Red flag warning issued for all of southeast Arizona on Tuesday

The National Weather Service has issued a red flag warning for all of southeast Arizona from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday.

Tucson is expected to see strong and gusty winds, dry conditions and a high to very high fire danger, the NWS said.

The NWS warns any fires that develop or are ongoing will have the potential to spread rapidly.

In Bisbee, a wildland fire broke out on Monday night, causing Highway 80 to close for several hours. Fifteen homes were in pre-evacuation status, according to a Facebook post from the Cochise County Sheriff’s Office, which also noted the challenging winds.

U.S. 80 was reopened around 6 a.m. on Tuesday and the pre-evacuation status has been lifted, the Associated Press reported. There was no information available on the fire’s size or how it started.

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Prescott has also been fighting a wildfire of its own. The Associated Press reported that the wildfire began around 10 a.m. on Monday and mandatory evacuations have been ordered for Arizona residents near Mount Union, about 10 miles south of Prescott.

A shelter has been set up at Findlay Toyota Center in Prescott Valley, a Facebook post from the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office said.

The fire had burned about 500 acres in rugged terrain filled with brush, ponderosa pine and mixed conifer, The Associated press reported.

The cause of the fire is currently under investigation.