SPRINGERVILLE, Ariz. — Firefighters worked furiously Monday to save a line of mountain communities in eastern Arizona from a gigantic blaze that has forced thousands of people from their homes and cast a smoky haze over states as far away as Iowa.
Strong winds and lightning storms were expected to make matters worse in an area dotted with cabins and campgrounds that have long provided a cool summer getaway from the oppressive heat of the nearby desert.
Lighter winds a day earlier sent embers flying as far as 3 miles and triggered a series of spot fires.
The Wallow fire had grown to nearly 365 square miles, officials said. Authorities believe an abandoned campfire may have sparked the blaze more than a week ago.
So far, the flames have destroyed five buildings and scorched 233,522 acres of ponderosa pine forest. No serious injuries have been reported. The blaze nearly doubled in size between Saturday and Monday.
About 2,000 people fled Alpine and Nutrioso late last week and headed to larger towns for shelter.
Roughly 2,500 firefighters, including many from several Western states and as far away as New York, are working to contain the wildfires, fire information officer Peter Frenzen said.
The fire is the state’s third largest, behind a 2002 blaze that blackened more than 732 square miles and destroyed 491 homes as well as one in 2005 that burned about 387 square miles in the Phoenix suburb of Cave Creek.
