Ghost Fire closes State Route 88 near Lost Dutchman State Park

The Ghost Fire burning north of Apache Junction on Friday afternoon led to the closure of westbound State Route 88 near Lost Dutchman State Park, the Arizona Department of Transportation announced.

At 2:15 p.m., multiple authorities responded to a fire burning near the border of Maricopa and Pinal counties just north of the state park, according to the Bureau of Land Management on the social platform X.

The fire was burning on both sides of SR 88 as of Friday at 5:15 p.m., and had spread to almost 100 acres, according to the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management.

Firefighters were able to stop forward progress of the fire as of 5:38 p.m., the state forestry agency said.

Park officials announced an immediate closure of Lost Dutchman State Park until further notice while authorities fought the roadside fire.

ADOT did not have an estimated time of reopening for SR 88.

It wasn't known how the fire started or how many acres had been burned. No injuries or destroyed property were reported.

The state forestry agency said ground crews were on the scene.

This is a developing story.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Ghost Fire near Apache Junction closes SR 88 near Lost Dutchman park