FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — Destructive Southwest fires have burned dozens of homes in northern Arizona and put small New Mexico villages in the path of flames that are expected to chew away Friday at wide swaths of tinder dry forest and grassland with the help of ferocious winds.
Firefighters working to keep more homes from burning on the edge of a mountain town in northern Arizona were helped by scattered showers and cooler temperatures early Friday, but the favorable weather was not expected to last as more gusts were forecast to batter parts of Arizona and all of New Mexico through the weekend.
Flames stretching 100 feet had raced through rural Arizona neighborhoods near Flagstaff just days earlier. It wasn’t until Thursday that a break in the weather allowed helicopters to drop water on the blaze and authorities to enter the charred area to survey the damage. They found 30 homes and numerous other buildings had been destroyed, with sheriff’s deputies saying more than 100 properties were affected.
The fire has burned close to 32 square miles, forced evacuations of 765 homes and destroyed at least two dozen structures since it broke out on Sunday. Crews wanted to see if lines hold around much of the fire before increasing containment numbers, fire spokesman Dick Fleishman said Friday.
Aerial attacks also resumed in northern New Mexico on Thursday, where at least one airtanker was able to join the effort northeast of Santa Fe — but that will be impossible on Friday.
Fire managers there said that without air support and no crews working directly on the fire lines due to the weather, explosive growth was expected.
