{"id":26,"date":"2026-05-10T10:04:22","date_gmt":"2026-05-10T10:04:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/phoenixrelocationnews.com\/?p=26"},"modified":"2026-05-10T10:04:22","modified_gmt":"2026-05-10T10:04:22","slug":"buckeye-battles-conspiracy-theories-that-bill-gates-caused-hazen-fire-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/phoenixrelocationnews.com\/?p=26","title":{"rendered":"Buckeye battles conspiracy theories that Bill Gates caused Hazen Fire"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Nope, Bill Gates and secret data centers in the West Valley didn\u2019t cause that giant smoky plume you\u2019re seeing in the sky west of Phoenix. On Wednesday, the city of Buckeye wanted to make that very clear through cheeky social media posts.<\/p>\n

Read more East Valley measles outbreak grows: Where you may have been exposed<\/a><\/p>\n

The smoke is from the Hazen Fire, which sparked near Highway 85 on the afternoon of May 2. It has been burning through a highly flammable invasive plant species \u2014 tamarisk, also known as salt cedar brush \u2014 in the Gila riverbed a mile south of Buckeye. As of Thursday morning, six days into the blaze, the fire is 78% contained and has burned through 1,191 acres, according to the city.\u00a0<\/p>\n

While fire crews continue to fight the fire, the cause remains unknown. But what isn\u2019t causing it, Buckeye clarified Wednesday, is data centers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In an Instagram post featuring a cartoonified Gates, the city took aim at conspiracy theories. \u201cNo, this is not Bill Gates land,\u201d the post reads. \u201cNo, there are no secret data centers being built here.\u201d The cartoon Gates points north of the city toward land that he owns, while emoji data centers mark the location of planned developments. In the south, a bold red arrow points to where the Hazen Fire is blazing, significantly to the south of both projects.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis isn\u2019t a mystery project,\u201d the post continued, \u201cit\u2019s a real fire in a real riverbed, and it\u2019s being met with years of preparation and some incredible work on the ground.\u201d<\/p>\n

Conspiracy theories have been swirling online that Bill Gates-owned land, secret data centers or future developments were connected to the fire. The city was \u201ctagged extensively in social media posts and comment threads containing misinformation about the Hazen Fire,\u201d city spokesperson John O\u2019Halloran wrote in an email to Phoenix New Times.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Read more Buckeye battles conspiracy theories that Bill Gates caused Hazen Fire<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThe motivation behind the post was simple: Misinformation surrounding the Hazen Fire was spreading faster than the wildfire itself,\u201d he added. \u201cWe felt it was important to refocus attention on the actual emergency response and provide accurate information to the public.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

In 2017, Gates purchased nearly 25,000 acres of land north of Buckeye to develop a \u201csmart city\u201d named Belmont. The project remains undeveloped. According to the Data Center Map, there are also two areas for planned data center development in Buckeye, but neither is near the location of the fire.<\/p>\n

The land where the fire has spread is largely owned by the Maricopa County Flood Control District, the Arizona Game & Fish Commission, the city of Buckeye and several industrial corporations, including concrete company Vulcan Materials.<\/p>\n

\n

Despite the city\u2019s attempt to set the record straight, many social media users remain distressingly unconvinced. While some thanked firefighters for their work and shut down the theories, there was still rampant misinformation among the post\u2019s more than 200 comments.\u00a0<\/p>\n

One user argued that the city\u2019s \u201cdefense for Bill Gates proves the board is finally in his pocket.\u201d Another user demanded \u201cREAL PROOF\u201d and appeared unconvinced as they repeated the conspiracy theory that \u201cthis seems very much man made.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Read more The most ghoulish things we saw at the Phoenix Border Security Expo<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

No, Bill Gates did not start the Hazen Fire in the West Valley. The city of Buckeye wants to make that very clear.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":23,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-environment"],"yoast_head":"\nBuckeye battles conspiracy theories that Bill Gates caused Hazen Fire - Phoenix Relocation News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/phoenixrelocationnews.com\/?p=26\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Buckeye battles conspiracy theories that Bill Gates caused Hazen Fire - Phoenix Relocation News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"No, Bill Gates did not start the Hazen Fire in the West Valley. 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