Crews brace for strong winds and explosive fire growth in West
Firefighters fanned out across blackened landscape in Arizona’s high country, digging into the ground to put out smoldering tree stumps and roots as helicopters buzzed overhead with buckets of water to drop on a massive blaze.
The work has been tedious and steady — all with the recognition that already strong winds will become stronger Friday and a shift over the weekend could turn the blaze up hillsides or toward homes on the outskirts of Flagstaff.
The 32-square-mile blaze is one of a half-dozen major wildfires that have raced across Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado over the past week. Forecasters have warned that warm weather, little to no precipitation and spring winds create a dangerous recipe for wildfires.
Those elements are “pretty much on steroids in the atmosphere for tomorrow,” said Scott Overpeck with the National Weather Service in Albuquerque, New Mexico. “And by that we mean they are really cranked up. Everything is overlapping together at the same time.”
The Flagstaff-area fire was expected to keep growing Friday, fanned by the wind, said Jerolyn Byrne, a spokeswoman for the team working the blaze.
Neither officials nor residents have been able to fully survey the damage, as crews on Thursday were busy wrestling a spot fire and trying to keep flames from running up the mountainside. If that were to happen, it would mean a much bigger fire with longterm consequences such as erosion and flooding.
Still, spirits were lifted Thursday as helicopters for the first time were able to start dropping water on the flames.
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey on Thursday declared a state of emergency in Flagstaff’s Coconino County. The declaration clears the way for state funding for evacuations, shelter, repairs and other expenses. However, the money can’t be used to reimburse home and business owners for losses.
About 30 structures have been destroyed, but it’s still unclear how many were homes, the county sheriff’s office said Thursday.