An Arizona wildfire more than tripled in size after relentless winds pushed flames through neighborhoods outside a tourist and college town, forcing hundreds of residents to evacuate and destroying more than two dozen homes and other structures.
The fire continued to advance Wednesday through dry grasslands and scattered ponderosa pines around homes to fields of volcanic rock, where roots deep underground can burn and send small rocks flying, firefighters said. Persistent spring winds and gusts of 50 miles per hour (80 kilometers per hour) hampered firefighters’ work.
The National Weather Service has issued a red flag warning for Thursday, which means wind will quickly fuel the fire’s growth, said the agency’s Brian Klimowski. A solid front will enter the area on Friday.
“This is a scenario of good news and bad news,” he said. “The good news is that temperatures will be cooler, and relative humidities will increase. The bad news is that the winds will be even stronger on Friday.”
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