Arizona Towns Evacuate as Wildfire Grows

Blaze covers 287 square miles
By Matt Cantor,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 6, 2011 8:06 AM CDT
Arizona Towns Evacuate as Wildfire Grows
Joe Reinarz commander of the Type I team battling the Wallow Fire briefs Ariz. Governor Jan Brewer Saturday, June, 4, 2011 in Eagar, Ariz.   (AP Photo/The Arizona Republic, Jack Kurtz)

A forest fire continues to rage in Arizona, now covering 287 square miles with some 2,300 firefighters on the scene. The fire, located some 160 miles east of Phoenix, has been blazing for nine days, remains uncontained, and has prompted the evacuation of several towns and subdivisions. Most residents have voluntarily left a nearby vacation village, but others are sticking it out until they’re ordered to leave, the AP reports. “We're all waiting for the word,” said one. It's now the third-largest fire in the state's history. (More Arizona stories.)

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