Windy and dry conditions were expected in northern Arizona on Wednesday, hampering efforts to contain a rapidly growing wildfire that caused the evacuation of more than 700 homes the day before.
The fire in the tunnel, about 14 miles northeast of Flagstaff, was reported Sunday afternoon and had risen to about 100 acres by Tuesday morning. By early Wednesday, it had grown to more than 6,000 acres, or 9.3 square miles, and was spreading rapidly northeast, away from the city and through a sparsely populated area, officials said.
Although there were no immediate reports of injuries or casualties Tuesday night, officials said they had received a call about a man trapped in his burning home. It was unclear whether he survived.
Forecasters said the weather in the region would remain less than optimal on Wednesday, with wind gusts of up to 30 miles per hour. While stronger winds were expected by the end of the week, fire monitoring is under way in the region on Thursday, the National Meteorological Service in Flagstaff said, adding that the combination of gusty winds and low humidity could ignite fires to increase . and intensity.
The fire was not completely contained as of Tuesday night, officials from the Coconino National Forest said. More than 200 firefighters and other personnel have been assigned to it, and a section of U.S. Highway 89 that runs north from Flagstaff to the Utah border has been closed.
Patrice Horstman, chairman of Flagstaff’s supervisory board, told a news conference Tuesday that 766 households and more than 1,000 animals have been evacuated so far.
At least two dozen structures have been destroyed and hundreds more threatened, Jim Driscoll, Coconino County Sheriff, told a news conference.
The rapid development of the fire has made evacuation efforts more challenging than before, he added, and staff from many agencies have “some difficulty in getting some people to leave” their homes despite the mandatory evacuation order.
The cause of the fire is not clear until late Tuesday night. Matt McGrath, a district ranger in the Coconino National Forest, said an investigation team would be in the area on Wednesday.
Forest fires are increasing in size and intensity in the western United States, and forest fire seasons are lengthening. Recent research shows that the heat and dryness associated with global warming are the main reason for the increase in larger and stronger fires.
Flagstaff, a college town of about 76,000 people, is about 150 miles north of Phoenix, the state capital, and about 80 miles south of the Grand Canyon.
Firefighters in the Flagstaff area were canceled on Tuesday because of “quite unprecedented winds we experienced,” Tru Brown, a fire control officer in the Flagstaff Ranger area, told reporters.
“When we talk about flames over 100 feet long, there really is no piece of aircraft or equipment that can stop it,” Mr Brown said.
He added that firefighters plan to patrol the area on Wednesday to secure as much of the uncontrolled end of the fire as possible.
Derrick Bryson Taylor contributed to the report.
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