TEMPE, Ariz. — A large fire broke out at a Tempe construction site off Loop 202 Wednesday afternoon, causing road closures in the area as crews fought it.
Tempe Fire said roofing material at the construction site caught fire. Soon, firefighters were dealing with towering flames and billowing smoke.
The smoke from the fire could be seen for miles as it intensified to a 2-alarm fire.
"Sure enough, the whole sky was just black with just smoke. Daylight—it looked like it was getting cloudy outside, it was just so dark out here," said Torian, who works at the Audio Express just feet from where the fire burned.
Andrew Esparza captured the roaring flames on video from his apartment just across the street.
"Pretty crazy. There was one point where, once they started getting water on it, ash was falling down everywhere, it was landing on us. It kind of looked like the end of the world from right here," he said.
The huge fire added unnecessary heat to a day already above 110 degrees.
"As soon as we stepped outside, we could just feel it smacking us in the side of the face, and we're all sweating instantly," Torian said.
About 100 firefighters worked to keep the fire from spreading to nearby buildings. Despite the fire's size, crews were able to knock it down pretty quickly.