KACHINA VILLAGE, Ariz. (AP) — Hundreds of firefighters
worked Thursday to protect communities on the edge of Flagstaff from a
wildfire that is chewing up a scenic Arizona canyon with towering flames
and burning entire trees down to nothing but ash.
The
human-caused Slide Fire started Tuesday and had burned 7 1/2 square
miles in and around Oak Creek Canyon, a scenic recreation area along a
highway between Sedona and Flagstaff that normally would be teeming with
tourists as the Memorial Day weekend approaches. There were no reports
so far of injuries or structures burned.
Fire incident commander
Tony Sciacca said the fire was 3 to 3 1/2 miles away from the
residential areas of Forest Highlands and Katina Village, where 3,200
residents remained under pre-evacuation warnings. Firefighters had no
containment on the blaze but were pleased that it only grew a couple
hundred acres overnight after increasing tenfold in size the previous
day.
They were mindful of the fire’s dangers, however, as they
looked at giant flames shooting up the walls of the canyon and saw how
hot the fire was burning in the tinder-dry drought conditions.
"The fuels are just so dry, entire trees are turning to ash," said Dick Fleishman, a spokesman
for fire managers.
A
primary focus of firefighting efforts will be to pinch off the fire
where it has reached the top of the canyon’s northeast corner to keep it
from burning northward toward residential areas, he said.
Sciacca
said 500 firefighters were assigned to the fire Thursday, with an
additional 200 personnel expected later in the day as more crews and
engines arrive.
Firefighters are also taking extra steps to make
sure they don’t lose communication with crews in the steep canyons. They
brought in "repeaters" on overlooks that look like 20-foot-tall
antennas to maintain radio contact with firefighters below. Radio
communication issues were a problem last year in a fire in nearby
Prescott that killed 19 firefighters who were part of a Hotshot crew.
"If
the fire makes any unfavorable movement, we know about it and I can
alert them," said firefighter Rich Sack of the Carson Hotshots in Taos,
New Mexico, as he held a radio and intently kept an eye on the fire.
The
weather may help even as winds picked up Thursday afternoon with the
prospect of higher humidity and a chance of rain by Friday, Fleishman
said. However, he warned that thunderstorms could bring much-needed rain
and moisture to dampen the blaze, but also lightning strikes that could
start additional fires and powerful downdrafts that could push the
blaze erratically in all directions.
"That’s what happened with the Prescott guys last year," he said.
As
smoke billowed over their homes, many residents of Kachina Village and
Forest Highlands got out of town Wednesday rather than wait for an
evacuation order. They filled their vehicles with clothes, heirlooms,
medication, legal documents and family pictures.
Residents also
cleared brush away from their homes and hosed down the landscape. Search
and rescue crews with the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office were going
door to door while pre-evacuation warnings were in place. For those who
they knew were safe, they placed a yellow ribbon on their mailboxes.
"I’m
a Korean War veteran. There’s not much that worries me," said
82-year-old Dick Summit, who decided to leave town and arranged to stay
with a friend in nearby Flagstaff.
The fire has closed the main
road between Sedona and Flagstaff. It’s burning near Slide Rock State
Park, a popular recreation area because of its natural rock water
slides.
The fire forced the evacuations of 100 threatened businesses and homes in a 2-mile stretch north of the
state park.
The
fire has sent up large amounts of smoke and ash and created hazy
conditions in Flagstaff, about 15 miles away. Health officials are
urging people who smell or see smoke from the fire to curtail outdoor
activity.
In southern Arizona, a wildfire on the Tohono O’odham
Indian Reservation was fully contained Thursday after charring more than
200 acres. The fire southwest of Tucson was reported Tuesday night.
Officials say no structures were damaged and no residents needed to be
evacuated.
___
Associated Press writer Paul Davenport contributed to this report from Phoenix.