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May 17, 2012

Wildfires Sweep Across Parts of Arizona 
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In Arizona, fire crews are battling a series of wildfires that have
swept across more than 30 square miles, fueled by high winds. Parts of
the Tonto and Prescott National Forests have been burned, while hundreds
of residents have been evacuated from the town of Crown King in central
Arizona. The blazes are the first in Arizona this year since last
year’s record season that saw more than 1,500 square-miles consumed by
fire. Joe Reinarz of the U.S. Forest Service said some areas remain too
dangerous for crews to enter.

Joe Reinarz: "This basin that we were worried about last night that is
coming out, we said one to four days. It did not go out today so we
passed the one day mark, and what we are doing right now — they
just ordered six air tankers to be putting retardant along here to keep
that checked up as long as we can and one of the reasons we are doing
that is we do not want it in there for one. We are not sure that that is
going to stop it until we get boots on the ground but we cannot go in
there when there is a high probability that it is going to take off."

 

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