[3] The boundaries of the Tonto National Forest are the Phoenix metropolitan area to the south, the Mogollon Rim to the north and the San Carlos and Fort Apache Indian Reservation to the east.

The fire was sufficiently contained by July 1, prompting the Incident Management Team to transition control to the Forest Service, which subsequently conducted a Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) assessment to begin rehabilitation efforts.

[5][6] Many wildlife species inhabit the forest including Colorado desert raccoons, bald eagles, New Mexico black bears, Mearns coyotes, Arizona skunks, bobcats, greater roadrunners, prairie falcons, Coues' white-tailed deer, long-eared owls, desert mule deer, Western red-tailed hawks, Great blue herons, North American cougars, American barn owls, ring-tailed cats, American kestrels, pronghorns, javelinas, and Rocky Mountain elk.

The Tonto Forest Reserve was established on October 3, 1905 by the United States General Land Office.

[8] A land swap proposed as a part of the 2015 National Defense Authorization Act would permit a subsidiary of the Rio Tinto mining conglomerate, Resolution Copper Co., to acquire 2,422 acres of the Tonto National Forest, considered sacred by the San Carlos Apache Tribe, for purposes of copper mining.