Rash of Wildfires Burn in Four 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 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 from the Lake Tahoe basin, said Teresa Long of the Fire Command Center in Mindon, Nev. There were five minor injuries.

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.

More than 700 firefighters battled the blaze, which still burned out of control Monday as it headed toward the popular Lake Tahoe ski resort area.

“It’s contained at the bottom, but it is still burning out of control [and] going up the mountain due to wind, which is blowing at 25 to 30 mph,” Lang said. “If it gets to the top of the ridge, the ski area is in danger, along with some condominiums that are perched on the ridge overlooking the Carson Valley area.”

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.

“At this point, it doesn’t look like they’ll be allowed to return soon,” said Beth Puschel, a Forest Service spokeswoman. “We’ve had really heavy gusts and we’re anticipating the wind to get harder.”

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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.

Firefighters completely contained four fires in northern Arizona, including the 70-acre Walnut Fire in Flagstaff and a 30-acre blaze in the Kachina Peaks Wilderness northwest of Flagstaff.

A 35-acre fire started Thursday southeast of Williams in the upper reaches of the Sycamore Canyon Wilderness also was contained Monday, and fire crews were close to containing a 300-acre blaze near Sedona.

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.

While the blaze had only spread across 150 acres by early Monday, it was being fed by 30 mph winds, and fire teams were pulled off a 19,000-acre fire in a remote forest region about 180 miles southwest of Albuquerque to fight the new blaze.