FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — A fast-moving wildfire in rural northern Arizona ballooned to over 9 square miles (23 square kilometers) Tuesday as winds whipped the flames, shut down a major highway and grounded aircraft that could drop water and fire retardant.
About a couple hundred homes along U.S. 89, north of Flagstaff, were evacuated as embers jumped ahead of the main blaze and smoke billowed into the air in an all-too familiar scene. Residents recalled scrambling to pack their bags and flee a dozen years ago during a much-larger wildfire burned in the same area.
Firefighters on Tuesday were up against 50 mph (80 kph) gusts that pushed the wildfire over the highway and weren’t expected to let up much this week, authorities said.
“It’s blowing hard, and we have ash falling on the highway,” said Coconino County sheriff’s spokesman Jon Paxton.
A top-level national fire management team is expected to take over the wildfire later this week.