FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – U.S. West Monday marked another hot, dry, and windy day as workers from California to New Mexico battled wildfires that forced hundreds of people from their homes.
About 2,500 homes have been evacuated as a result of two fires on the outskirts of Flagstaff in northern Arizona, officials said in an afternoon interview.
“We’ve all been thrilled to see our beautiful mountain burning. We have acknowledged that this is a difficult time for those displaced and for those whose homes have been threatened, “Coconino County Board of Directors Patrice Horstman said.
A wildfire caused the district to declare an emergency. It has been influenced by the strong winds that have created the aircraft as a firefighting option. The crew plans to be able to use the plane on Tuesday as the winds are still high, officials said.
Event Cmdr. Aaron Graeser said the Flagstaff firefight is one of the country’s top firefighting equipment.
“Every possible source of fire was a problem today, and every possible non-combustible area was receiving fire today,” he said. Graeser said. “That puts us in a very exciting position to try to deliver the tools as best we can in terms of that.”
The current situation has also saved firefighters from being able to map it better with air but the fire is estimated at 8 square miles (20 square kilometers).
Workers were expecting winds of up to 50 mph (80 kph) as they battled a blazing fire in parts of the foot area left by another annual fire that destroyed more than a dozen houses. 22 as well as other components of fire wounds.
So far, one house and two buildings have been lost in a fire reported on Sunday, Deputy Sheriff Bret Axlund said.
The Arizona Snowbowl ski resort is closed as a protection from wildfires – the second to hit the area this year.
“It’s like déjà vu,” said Coconino County Sheriff’s spokesman Jon Paxton. “We’re in exactly the same place we did a month and a half ago. People are tired.”
Two other small fires northeast of flames also caught fire on Monday.
Wildfires began earlier this year in many U.S. states. In the West, where climate change and persistent droughts are often causing more and more forest fires and pastures.
The number of square kilometers burned so far this year is more than double the national average of 10 years, and says that like New Mexico it has already set reports of destructive flames that have destroyed homes hundreds while causing environmental damage which is expected to affect the water supply.
Nationwide, more than 6,200 national firefighters were battling about XNUMX uncontrolled fires that burned more than 1 million hectares (4,408 km), according to the Fire Station of the Interagency National.
In Alaska, too, reporters have warned that the south-west wildfire has increased dramatically in the past week, which is unusual in that region. Southwest Alaska often has short periods of high fire risk because temporary rain can provide relief, but since mid-May the area is still hot and windy, helping drying of plants.
Good weather on Monday helped slow the spread of wildfires about 4.8 miles [4.8 km] from the Alaskan village. The moderate temperature and the changing of the air that was driving the fire to St. Mary’s will allow firefighters to hit the flames directly and increase security for the Yup’ik community.
Lightning fire is estimated to be 193 square miles (500 square kilometers). It burns dry grass and shrubs in the southwest of the Alaska tundra often devoid of trees.
In California, evacuations from about 300 homes were ordered near a wildfire that erupted over the weekend in a forested area northeast of Los Angeles near the Pacific Crest Trail in the San Gabriel Mountains .
The fire saw renewed growth on Sunday afternoon and by Monday afternoon had consumed about 1.5 square miles (3.9 square km) of pine trees and a dry brush, firefighter spokesman Dana said. Dierkes said.
Dierkes said: “The oil is very dry, so it works like a ladder, carrying flames from the bottom of the trees to the very top,” Dierkes said. The crew was also facing unexpected winds that were expected to intensify later in the day, he said.
In addition to the forced migration, the rest of the mountain town of Wrightwood, with a population of about 4,500, was subject to evacuation. Several roads were closed.
Five people were rescued from the scene after a wildfire broke out Monday near Dulzura in San Diego County near the Mexican border and spread over nearly 600 acres (242 hectares), officials said.
Two of the rescuers were taken to hospital but there was no immediate word on how they were injured or their condition, fire officials said.
Fire temperatures were high due to the hot and dry weekend temperatures throughout Southern California. Monday was expected to be cold, but another heat wave was expected during the week, the National Weather Service said.
In northern California, a 50-mile (80-km) stretch of State Route 70 was closed indefinitely on Monday after mud, rocks, and dead trees covered the roads during floods near the burning wound of a wildfire.
Several drivers were rescued Sunday evening in the dirt that was pouring down the highway when the hills were burned by Dixie’s big fire last year coming down. No injuries were reported.
The causes of recent California fires were being investigated.
U.S. law enforcement officials The Forest Service quoted a 57-year-old neighbor for lighting toilet paper in a fire and placing it under a rock Saturday near the start of the Arizona wildfire. The fire was reported later in the day. Court documents show the man told authorities he had tried to put out the fire with his sleeping bag, but his spokesman told a federal court on Monday that did not mean his client was his. responsible for burning the fire.
Flagstaff resident Janetta Kathleen rode her horse, Squish, up a steep hill to see the wildfire on Sunday evening and watched as it climbed to the mountain shade homes. His home does not go directly into the fire road, but his family, two bulldogs and horses are ready to go immediately.
He said: “I need to know what’s going on because I have to make some decisions for my family. If the spirits change, we will be in trouble.
Tourists, campers and others who had gone out to enjoy the forest also had to leave on Sunday. A dormitory was set up in a middle school.
Strong winds sent flames across the U.S. Route 89, the main road leading to the east entrance of the Grand Canyon, across the Navajo State up to Utah. A lot of people go between reporting and Flagstaff for work. Some sections of the highway remained closed on Monday.
“We are not working directly to prevent fire from destroying everything right now,” said Coconino National Forest spokesman Brady Smith. “That is not our goal and it is not possible now. At the moment, it will focus more on protecting lives and property.”
Smoke from a fire near Flagstaff caused cloudy weather in Colorado on Monday, obscuring the view of the Rocky Mountains from Denver and other towns along the district’s Front Range.
Meanwhile, firefighters worked to prevent a small fire burning from juniper and pine that briefly triggered public orders Sunday in San Luis Valley’s Rio Grande National Forest in southern Colorado .
The National Weather Service issued red flag warnings for high fire risk in central and southern Colorado as well as parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah.
Winds are expected to subside after Monday with some of the humidity coming in later this week in the south-west, the weather service said.
Associated Press Correspondent Christopher Weber of Los Angeles; Mark Thiessen, Anchorage, Alaska; Jim Anderson in Denver; and Susan Montoya Bryan of Albuquerque, New Mexico, contributed to this report.