Florida Fire Spreads; Blazes Plague West

A wildfire burning through part of Florida’s Okefenokee swamp grew to 53,000 acres, pushing into southern Georgia. Hot, dry weather was expected to allow the blaze to spread further. Meanwhile, wind gusts up to 50 mph helped spread a fire near the Arizona-Utah line and Grand Canyon National Park. That fire had burned across 10,800 acres. A wildfire 80 miles west of Phoenix burned 14,600 acres before being contained, and in Nevada, firefighters called in reinforcements to help battle a blaze that had charred 7,000 acres in rugged terrain about 85 miles northeast of Las Vegas. About 400 firefighters were fighting the Florida fire, and helicopters and aerial tankers were also being deployed.