Rash of Wildfires Burn in Six Western States

Firefighters battled Monday to contain wildfires that burned thousands of acres in the West, scorched the rim of the Grand Canyon and forced the evacuation of thousands of people in Arizona and Nevada.

Fires also were burning in California, Alaska, Utah and New Mexico as a searing drought produced tinder-dry conditions, raising fears that this year’s fire season in the western states could be one of the worst on record.

“It’s very bad out there, and this is just the beginning of the fire season,” said Raquel Romero, a U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman in Arizona. “This is the worst that we’ve seen.”

About 2,500 firefighters from across the country battled seven blazes in Arizona, which was hit hardest.

In Nevada, between 3,000 and 4,000 people were evacuated for a time from the Lake Tahoe basin, said Teresa Long of the Fire Command Center in Mindon, Nev.

Two boys--13 and 14--were suspects in the Nevada fire, saying that they accidentally ignited the blaze with gasoline, authorities said.

The evacuations occurred as the fire moved into brush and timber after it broke out at 2 p.m. Sunday at the base of Kingsbury Grade, 60 miles south of Reno.

The fire had burned about 4,000 acres by Monday evening and threatened about 100 homes near the Heavenly Valley ski resort, about 60 miles south of Reno, before firefighters got help from an incoming storm.

“The situation looks a lot better right now,” Forest Service spokeswoman Cathleen Thompson said. “The weather has really helped us. We’ve had lighter winds, cooler temperatures and higher humidity today. A little rain also helped.”

The fire was only 45% contained by Monday evening, but all 3,000 to 4,000 residents evacuated Sunday were able to return Monday evening--except for four families whose homes were destroyed.

“You just have to live with the memories and go on from there,” said Howard Herz, who lost his $750,000 house in the fire.

About 950 firefighters were battling the blaze, aided by air tankers and helicopters dumping retardant. One firefighter was badly burned, and seven others suffered minor injuries.

About 300 firefighters from New Jersey to California were recruited to help workers battle the Arizona fires. All but one was caused by lightning.

The most potent of the Arizona blazes was a 10,465-acre fire burning north of Flagstaff, on the north side of the San Francisco Peaks. The blaze forced evacuation of residents from two nearby subdivisions, ravaged habitat for spotted owls, turkeys and goshawks, and threatened closure of the main road from Flagstaff to the Grand Canyon, fire officials reported.

The blaze, which started Thursday, was only 10% contained Monday. It was one of four in Arizona that led to evacuations.

Outside the Apache Sitgreaves National Forest in east-central Arizona, about 300 Pinedale residents were displaced because of the 1,800-acre Cottonwood fire.

Firefighters battled two fires on the north rim of the Grand Canyon. The main tourist area on the canyon’s South Rim was unaffected.

One fire began Saturday 10 miles northwest of Bridgers Knoll, burning about 2,000 acres by Monday. The second blaze blackened 1,500 acres and forced the evacuation by helicopter of 10 canyon hikers.

A fire in the Coconino National Forest near West Clear Creek spread to 5,800 acres by Monday. About 80 homes had been evacuated but no structures had been lost, park spokesman Ellis Richard said.

In California’s Sequoia National Forest, a fire charred more than 250 acres and injured two firefighters as they fought the flames in steep terrain east of the Kern River, authorities said.

The fire began about 2:30 p.m. in the mountain community of Kernville, about 50 miles east of Bakersfield. It burned into the boundaries of the forest by Monday night.

Meanwhile, firefighters were mopping up after three wildfires that burned more than 1,030 acres in Riverside County hills.

The largest blaze was a 670-acre fire four miles northeast of San Jacinto, about 80 miles east of Los Angeles. It was surrounded at midnight Sunday, said Joanne Evans of the California Department of Forestry.

The 343-acre Jackrabbit fire, five miles west of Beaumont, started about 3 p.m. Sunday and was extinguished early Monday.

A 25-acre blaze in Temecula, about 90 miles southeast of Los Angeles, was extinguished early Monday, the spokeswoman said.

In central Utah, up to 15,000 acres of pinion pine and sagebrush burned Monday in a high desert area of Juab County.

In New Mexico, a lightning-sparked fire threatened to spread to homes on the outskirts of Jemez Springs, a town about 50 miles north of Albuquerque.

In Alaska, the largest of 60 wildfires burning throughout the state charred more than 27,500 acres in four days, officials said Monday.