Arizona, June 21: The second wildfire to hit Flagstaff in two days quickly spread Sunday to more than 4 square miles (10 sq. kilometers), driving residents from hundreds of homes just north of this forested city, creating a huge plume of smoke and prompting a search for missing hikers.
Also Sunday, evacuation orders for the first fire, in southeastern Flagstaff, were lifted after fire officials reported the blaze 30 percent contained. A man was arrested on suspicion of starting that fire by dumping coals from a campfire on the ground, city spokeswoman Kimberly Ott said.
Officials announced the news about the hikers and revised the number of evacuations for both wildfires at a Sunday evening press conference. They didn’t specify how many hikers were missing but said “two active searches” were under way.
Authorities also announced that a third wildfire was reported near a major highway in western Flagstaff. The blaze was caused by a vehicle fire that spread into a wooded area, but there was no word on its size, officials said.
Ott said residents of hundreds of homes on 1,044 parcels were being advised to leave because of the fire, which was reported Sunday morning and quickly charred 3,000 acres (1,200 hectares).
Four helicopters and 300 firefighters were battling the blaze, and more crews were on the way, Ott said. Eight air tankers were ordered but had been grounded because of wind.
Authorities knew of no buildings that had been burned.
–Agencies