PHOENIX (Reuters) – A massive fire burning in eastern Arizona continued to grow out of control, charring nearly 193,000 acres of bone-dry fo...
Facing high winds and low humidity, an army of more than 2,300 firefighters battled a raging blaze that has forced the evacuation of two small mountain communities and four other area subdivisions, officials said.
Weather conditions are expected to hamper firefighting efforts again on Monday, with wind gusts that could reach up to 45 miles per hour.
"We haven't turned the corner yet," said Eric Neitzel, a fire information official. "We have a couple of more miles until we can see the corner. It's still too smoky."
The so-called Wallow Fire, which is about 250 miles northeast of Phoenix and stretches to near the Arizona-New Mexico border, is the third-largest fire on record in Arizona. It is at zero percent containment.
Fire crews from across the country are expected to concentrate their efforts on the east side of the fire, protecting Luna, New Mexico, and Alpine and Nutrioso, in Arizona.
Authorities have asked Luna residents to be ready for a possible evacuation from their homes. The several hundred residents in Alpine and Nutrioso were evacuated on Thursday and there is no estimate for when they would be able to return.
Four more housing developments in the area also were forced to flee their homes on Sunday as the fire continued to burn, officials said.
"The weather that moved across the area really blew out the fire," Neitzel told Reuters. "That's why we had to evacuate those ranching communities."
Smoke from the large wildfire is cascading across the area and spreading into New Mexico and parts of Colorado.
Arizona Governor Jan Brewer visited the fire scene on Saturday, telling reporters at a press conference that it was a "frightening sight" as she viewed it from a plane.
Also in Arizona, nearly 1,000 firefighters continue to have better control of a major blaze burning in the southeastern part of the state.
Officials said the Horseshoe 2 Fire has consumed more than 100,000 acres and prompted the evacuation of two small communities. That fire is 55 percent contained.
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