LOS ANGELES: The Wallow wildfire has seen thousands of people forced from their homes as the blaze grows larger and is spreading. The fire that has burned nearly 400,000 acres is now threatening neighbor state New Mexico. The government said the fire, which began on May 29, is the second largest in the state's history. The governor's office has already issued a state of emergency and has released some $200,000 in funding aimed at response and recovery. Officials believe a campfire initially started the blaze. The fire has destroyed five buildings but no serious injuries have been reported. Over the weekend, it spread dramatically. “Luckily, the winds are going to slightly decrease today so we should be able to get our aerial resources in,” Maricopa Fire Department spokesman Brad Pitassi told The Arizona Republic. “But if a couple strong wind gusts hit, there's no telling how far this fire could reach.” The fire doubled in size Friday to more than 120,000 acres, consuming 60,000 acres in two days and forcing the evacuation of more than 2,000 residents. Officials said they're concerned the Wallow Fire could endanger the communities of Greer, Springerville and Eagar. “The fire still has zero containment. The wind is spiking up. Today will be worse than yesterday, and yesterday was a bad day,” said Apache County Manager Delwin P. Wengert. “The humidity is low, the winds are about 30 mph and they just can't seem to contain it. They're really just trying to protect structures right now and stay out of the fire. Our main fear is that it will continue to burn toward Round Valley.” BM
