This month of May had quite the fiery visitor for Arizona. The Hazen Fire of Buckeye started just this past May 2nd. Within the first few days of it’s life it grew slowly totaling out with a whopping 1,191 acres. For reference, that’s about 1.86 square miles of land. Luckily this is a minimal amount of land for the city of Buckeye considering sometimes it’s hard to tell where the farmland stops. The minimal effects however should not disregard the loss, as Buckeye holds about 30,000 total acres of farmland. Not gigantic but still noticeable, officials still have no exact explanation for the cause of the fire. It was an ongoing investigation but reports have ceased as of six days ago with the fire finally dying down.

In comparison to recent years this fire was quite the mouse squeak. The Hazen Fire brought no property loss, injuries, or loss of life. The roar of the 2011 Wallow Fire however, overshadows it immensely. It stretched across not just Arizona but well into New Mexico’s land. The Wallow Fire burned 386,690 acres of Arizona soil. Which if New Mexico land was included that number would swell to well over half a million. With a loss of 27 total homes and the threatening of 5,242 additional homes. All started by two cousins who did not properly extinguish their campfire in the Bear Wallow Wilderness. While we may not know who or what caused the Hazen Fire, don’t be those two stupid cousins.