Diamond Fire burns in Tonto National Forest, evacuations announced for residents

The Diamond Fire was burning to the southeast of Indian Spring Peak in the Tonto National Forest on Sunday evening.

The fire could be seen from Highway 87 as crews worked to contain the fire throughout the weekend. Evacuations were announced by officials impacting the Sunflower area near the national forest.

On Sunday, officials with Tonto National Forest said that the fire was heading away from the area of Sunflower but residents have been placed in SET mode. But later on Sunday afternoon residents in the area were placed in GO mode, meaning they need to evacuate, with officials setting up an evacuation center.

Residents are currently being asked to evacuate to the: Red Cross Evacuation Center at 10424 N Fort McDowell Road: old bingo hall at We-Ko-Pa Casino.

Officials also said in a tweet that various helicopters and flights have been deployed for both reconnaissance and dropping water.

As of Sunday afternoon, the area burned by the fire is 100 acres, but officials expect this figure to grow once they get a better mapping of the area.

Although named the same as another fire near Scottsdale earlier this month, this fire is unconnected to the Diamond Fire from early July.

This is a developing story.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Evacuations announced due to fire burning inside Tonto National Forest