Fire crews try to keep blaze away from Arizona homes, resort
Posted July 22, 2019 1:27 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — A wildfire in a popular summer getaway in Arizona grew early Monday as crews tried to keep it in the mountain area and away from homes and a ski resort.
More than a dozen aircraft, including four air tankers, were dropping fire retardant and water on the blaze in the Flagstaff area that had grown to about 1.6 square miles (4.1 square kilometres).
Ground crews were working to establish containment lines.
“We’re throwing a lot of resources at this fire,” Coconino National Forest spokesman George Jozens said. “We’re trying to make sure it’s not coming out of that mountain into town.”
Mountain bikers, horseback riders, campers and hikers were evacuated around Mount Elden on Sunday, and thousands of nearby residents were told to be prepared to leave by packing supplies for at least three days.
The blaze was first reported Sunday. It was being fought by roughly 200 firefighters, including 10 Hotshot crews.
Smoke billowing from the mountain and the red glow at night have been foreboding images for the community that saw a massive wildfire on the east side of San Francisco Peaks in 2010, when hundreds of homes were evacuated and a girl died in subsequent flooding.
The current fire was burning in Ponderosa pines and mixed conifer between Mount Elden and the San Francisco Peaks, where Jozens said it could quickly pick up speed.
The terrain was posing more of a challenge for firefighters than the weather, officials said.
The fight could be aided by rain expected later in the week.
“As far as specific amounts, it’s very hard to predict because of the scattered nature of the storms,” said Nathan Lynum, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Flagstaff.
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Associated Press writer Terry Tang in Phoenix contributed to this story
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This story has been corrected to say the fire was first reported Sunday, not July 12.
Felicia Fonseca, The Associated Press
