Arizona’s Pipeline Fire has burned more than 20,000 acres in 2 days
CNN
By Joe Sutton, CNN
Arizona’s Pipeline Fire, about six miles from Flagstaff, has scorched more than 20,000 acres, about four times the area it was Monday afternoon, according to Coconino National Forest officials.
Two smaller fires in the vicinity, the Haywire Fire and Double Fire, are now combined and called the Haywire Fire, and is about 4,000 acres in size, a release from the national forest said.
Both fires were at 0% containment as of Tuesday afternoon, the release said. The Pipeline Fire was reported Sunday, and the Haywire Fire on Monday, according to Inciweb.
Hot, windy and dry conditions have hampered firefighting efforts, but “lower wind speeds may allow for aerial operations throughout the day Tuesday and beyond,” the release said.
Officials earlier closed access to nearly the entire northern portion of the forest.
Authorities in Coconino County evacuated hundreds of households on Sunday due to the Pipeline Fire — and thousands more were told to be prepared to evacuate. CNN has reached out to Coconino County officials for updated information on evacuations.
The county’s board of supervisors has declared a state of emergency because of the fires’ impact on the area.
There are 40 active, large wildfires in the United States Tuesday that have burned almost 1.2 million acres in six states, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.
“Seven new large fires were reported yesterday, three in Alaska and Arizona and one in Utah,” the NIFC said. “More than 6,200 wildland firefighters and support personnel are assigned to incidents.”
In New Mexico, firefighters are battling the two largest fires in the state’s history at once, the Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon Fire just northeast of Santa Fe and the Black Fire in the Gila National Forest. The two have burned more than 600,000 acres combined.
There are 360 personnel involved in fighting the Pipeline Fire, the national forest said, including “eight hand crews, 40 engines, six water tenders, five dozers and miscellaneous overhead.”
Less than two months ago, hundreds of households in Flagstaff were forced to evacuate due to the Tunnel Fire, which burned about 14 miles northeast of the city. The fire, which began April 17, ultimately burned about 19,000 acres, according to InciWeb.
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CNN’s Theresa Waldrop, Robert Shackelford, Elizabeth Wolfe and Travis Caldwell contributed to this report.
