PHOENIX (AP) -- A lightning-sparked wildfire burning in the Tonto National Forest grew to an estimated 2,000 acres by Friday night, authorities said.
The Willow fire had retreated into a canyon early Friday afternoon but ran up the other side, said Vinnie Picard, a Forest Service spokesman.
``We were hopeful that we would catch it before it hit the bottom,'' Picard said. ``We had some erratic winds and off it went.''
The blaze moved northeast toward the center of the Mazatzal Wilderness Area, but no structures were threatened, according to Picard.
However, he said the wilderness area would be closed to the public starting at 8 a.m. Saturday as a safety precaution.
``While this is some significant growth, I'd like to remind everyone that this fire is burning into an even more remote area of the forest than where it started,'' Picard said. ``The fire is miles and miles and miles from any subdivision.''
Three helicopters, an air tanker and three 20-person hotshot crews were working the blaze, which started Thursday.
Picard said a fire management team was being brought in Saturday to come up with a plan of how to best contain the fire.
