{"id":41081,"date":"2022-04-20T19:42:23","date_gmt":"2022-04-21T01:42:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/southwest-wildfires-force-evacuations-tighten-resources\/"},"modified":"2022-04-21T01:42:23","modified_gmt":"2022-04-21T01:42:23","slug":"southwest-wildfires-force-evacuations-tighten-resources","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/southwest-wildfires-force-evacuations-tighten-resources\/","title":{"rendered":"Southwest wildfires force evacuations, tighten resources"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"This
This Wednesday April 20, 2022, photo provided by Bill Wells shows his home on the outskirts of Flagstaff, Ariz., destroyed by a wildfire on Tuesday, April 19, 2022. The wind-whipped wildfire has forced the evacuation of hundreds of homes and animals. (Bill Wells via AP)<\/span>Bill Wells<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. \u2013 An Arizona wildfire more than tripled in size as relentless winds pushed the flames through neighborhoods on the outskirts of a college and tourist town, keeping hundreds of residents away from their homes and destroying more than two dozen structures.<\/p>\n

The blaze continued its run Wednesday through dry grass and scattered ponderosa pines around homes into volcanic cinder fields, where roots underground can combust and send small rocks flying into the air, fire officials said. Persistent spring winds and 50 mph gusts hindered firefighters.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a heads-up for everywhere else in the state,\u201d said fire information officer Dick Fleishman. \u201cIf you have dry grass up next to your house, it\u2019s time to get that cleaned up.\u201d<\/p>\n

The National Weather Service has issued a red flag warning for Thursday, which means the wind will be conducive to rapid fire growth, said Brian Klimowski of the National Weather Service. A strong front is moving into the area Friday.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a good news\/bad news scenario,\u201d he said. \u201cThe good news is temperatures will be cooler, relative humidities will rise. Bad news, the winds will be even stronger on Friday.\u201d<\/p>\n

Klimowski said there will be a chance of showers on Friday. \u201cBut beyond that, it\u2019s going to be dry. So folks, we have entered our fire season. It\u2019s going to be a long one this year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fire managers are contending with tight resources as wildfires burn around the Southwest. The U.S. has 16 top-level national fire management teams, and four of those are dedicated to blazes in Arizona and New Mexico \u2013 something Fleishman said is rare this early in the wildfire season.<\/p>\n

Hundreds of people have been evacuated because of the wildfires north of Flagstaff and south of Prescott in Arizona.<\/p>\n

\"This
This Twitter photo provided by Zak Pressley shows a wildfire burning in Doney Park in Coconino County, Ariz., on Tuesday, April 19, 2022. An Arizona wildfire doubled in size overnight into Wednesday, a day after heavy winds kicked up a towering wall of flames outside a northern Arizona tourist and college town, ripping through two dozen structures and sending residents of more than 700 homes scrambling to flee. (Zak Pressley via AP)<\/span>Zak Pressley<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

In New Mexico, the Mora County Sheriff\u2019s Office issued mandatory evacuations for more residents as winds fueled a blaze that has burned more than 14 square miles since Sunday. Meanwhile, another fire was sparked Wednesday afternoon in a wooded area along the Rio Grande south of Albuquerque.<\/p>\n

Red flag warnings were on tap across New Mexico on Wednesday and through the rest of the week, and in portions of northern Arizona for Thursday. Winds were expected to strengthen Thursday and Friday, said Mark Stubblefield of the National Weather Service.<\/p>\n

In Colorado, new wildfires prompted evacuations in Monte Vista, a city of about 4,150 people in the southern part of the state, as well as near Longmont.<\/p>\n

Monte Vista Police Chief George Dingfelder confirmed structures have been lost. He said investigators have \u201cno idea\u201d how many, and there have been no reports of injuries or people missing. The fire\u2019s progress was stopped and crews were putting out hot spots. Earlier, flames and billowing smoke could be seen on a street surrounded by buildings as fire crews responded, according to video from a reporter<\/a> for the Alamosa Citizen<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlmost immediately there were some structures that caught on fire. We struggled at times to stay in front of this fire and stay out of the way of it because the winds and stuff were so strong,\u201d Dingfelder said.<\/p>\n

He said investigators do not yet know what caused the fire, which burned about 17 acres.<\/p>\n

The number of acres burned in the U.S. so far this year is about 30% above the 10-year average \u2013 a figure that has gone up from 20% just earlier this month as the fire danger shifted from the southern U.S. to the Southwest, where above-average temperatures and below-average precipitation have combined with spring winds to elevate the chances for more catastrophic fires.<\/p>\n

On the outskirts of Flagstaff where tourists and locals revel in hiking and horseback riding trails, camping spots, and the vast expanse of cinder fields for off-road vehicle use, flames soared as high as 100 feet. Popular national monuments including Sunset Crater Volcano and Wupatki were closed because of the wildfire.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just a unique community and we\u2019re fortunate to live here,\u201d said Jon Stoner, who evacuated his home Tuesday. \u201cWe feel very lucky with the views we have and the surrounding forest.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"This
This Twitter photo provided by Zak Pressley shows a wildfire burning in Doney Park in Coconino County, Ariz., on Tuesday, April 19, 2022. An Arizona wildfire doubled in size overnight into Wednesday, a day after heavy winds kicked up a towering wall of flames outside a northern Arizona tourist and college town, ripping through two dozen structures and sending residents of more than 700 homes scrambling to flee. (Zak Pressley via AP)<\/span>Zak Pressley<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Some residents\u2019 homes were burned to the ground, though Coconino County hasn\u2019t said exactly how many. Officials said Tuesday evening that 766 homes and 1,000 animals had been evacuated, and about 250 structures remained threatened.<\/p>\n

One man who reportedly was trapped in his home by the flames was able to get out, Coconino County sheriff\u2019s spokesman Jon Paxton said Wednesday.<\/p>\n

Firefighters were expected to move through neighborhoods Wednesday to cool down any smoldering spots and assess what\u2019s most at risk. Paxton said no injuries or deaths have been reported.<\/p>\n

Coconino County Sheriff Jim Driscoll said he could not commit to a time when residents will be allowed back in their homes. Propane tanks, combustibles and other hazardous materials still pose a risk around homes, he said. Roads might not be safe, stumps could still be smoldering and utilities haven\u2019t been checked, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s still active firefighting going on in those areas, and we need to have it safe for you to go in,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

U.S. 89, the main route between Flagstaff and far northern Arizona, and communities on the Navajo Nation, remained closed.<\/p>\n

\"A
A wind-driven wildfire burns at the edge of U.S. 89 on the outskirts of Flagstaff, Ariz., on Tuesday, April 19, 2022. An Arizona wildfire doubled in size overnight into Wednesday, a day after heavy winds kicked up a towering wall of flames outside a northern Arizona tourist and college town, ripping through two dozen structures and sending residents of more than 700 homes scrambling to flee. (Jake Bacon\/Arizona Daily Sun via AP)<\/span>Jake Bacon<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

The fire started Sunday afternoon northeast of Flagstaff and its cause is under investigation. The county declared an emergency after the wildfire ballooned from 100 acres Tuesday morning to over 9 square miles by evening. It was estimated at more than 30 square miles Wednesday afternoon.<\/p>\n

Fire crews have yet to corral any part of it.<\/p>\n

The surrounding mountains were shrouded in smoke as ash rained down from the sky. Residents reported hearing propane tanks bursting amid the flames.<\/p>\n

Early Tuesday, Lisa Wells saw a puff of smoke outside her window. Before long, the smoke blackened, the wind gained strength and entire trees were being consumed by flames. In what felt like seconds, her family moved from being ready to go to fleeing. Wells grabbed medication, and the family got themselves, their alpacas, horses and dogs to safety.<\/p>\n

\"Lisa
Lisa Wells, stands with her dog Lily, as they wait for family in the parking lot on the outskirts of Flagstaff, Ariz., on Wednesday, April 20, 2022. Wells and her family evacuated because of a wildfire that destroyed their home. (AP Photo\/Felicia Fonseca)<\/span>Felicia Fonseca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

They drove off and pulled over in the parking lot of a tavern to process what happened \u2013 where she was standing Wednesday, her blue heeler Bandit at the end of a leash.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a miracle that people got out because we had so little time,\u201d Wells said.<\/p>\n

The house they bought 15 years ago with a barn and guest quarters, the quirky one that had horizontal studs held together by tongue-and-groove boards, wasn\u2019t standing for long. Winds shifted and pushed flames over an open field and onto the house that Wells\u2019 husband, Bill, had been remodeling a little at a time.<\/p>\n

The blaze destroyed the main house and the barn. The only thing they\u2019ve been able to recover from the ashes was a gray porcelain dove that Bill Wells gave his wife as a gift. It was part of a set of collectibles.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was the only thing we found so far, but it means a lot, and we will keep it,\u201d Lisa Wells said. \u201cI love birds.\u201d<\/p>\n

The family\u2019s real-life birds and goats didn\u2019t survive the fire that left a mosaic of ashes and blackened debris in the neighborhood.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had to leave some of the animals there,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

She thought, too, about the decades of photographs she left behind and the baby grand piano that was built in 1890 that her grandmother, who was an opera singer, gave her. Those are gone, too.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just stuff, you realize it\u2019s all just stuff and what\u2019s important is your family,\u201d she said. \u201cWe think day to day, we know it will all work out.\u201d<\/p>\n

For now, they are staying in a hotel where Bandit and siblings, Lily and Bear, who are hybrid German shepherds, also are welcome.<\/p>\n

They still love Flagstaff, the city of 70,000 nestled in the largest contiguous Ponderosa pine forest in the U.S., but she worries about how dry the landscape has become.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will rebuild, we will. This time with cinder block,\u201d she said with a hearty laugh. \u201cProbably not going to use wood.\u201d<\/p>\n

Neighbors offered their homes to evacuees and their backyards to animals that included sheep, goats and horses. A shelter was set up at a local middle school where a community meeting was planned Wednesday evening.<\/p>\n

Elsewhere in Arizona, a wildfire burned 2.5 square miles of brush and timber in the forest about 10 miles south of Prescott. Several small communities that included summer homes and hunting cabins were evacuated.<\/p>\n

Associated Press writer Paul Davenport in Phoenix and Susan Montoya Bryan in Albuquerque, New Mexico, contributed to this report.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"In
In this photo provided by the Coconino National Forest, the Tunnel Fire burns near Flagstaff, Ariz., on Tuesday, April 19, 2022. An Arizona wildfire doubled in size overnight into Wednesday, a day after heavy winds kicked up a towering wall of flames outside a northern Arizona tourist and college town, ripping through two dozen structures and sending residents of more than 700 homes scrambling to flee. (Coconino National Forest via AP)<\/span>Uncredited<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"A
A wind-driven wildfire dances around a home on the outskirts of Flagstaff, Ariz., on Tuesday, April 19, 2022. An Arizona wildfire doubled in size overnight into Wednesday, a day after heavy winds kicked up a towering wall of flames outside a northern Arizona tourist and college town, ripping through two dozen structures and sending residents of more than 700 homes scrambling to flee. (Jake Bacon\/Arizona Daily Sun via AP)<\/span>Jake Bacon<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"A
A tumbleweed rolls past a line of cars stopped ahead of a roadblock on U.S. 89 on the outskirts of Flagstaff, Ariz., Tuesday, April 19, 2022. An Arizona wildfire doubled in size overnight into Wednesday, a day after heavy winds kicked up a towering wall of flames outside a northern Arizona tourist and college town, ripping through two dozen structures and sending residents of more than 700 homes scrambling to flee. (Jake Bacon\/\/Arizona Daily Sun via AP)<\/span>Jake Bacon<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Lisa
Lisa Wells holds a porcelain dove on Wednesday, April 20, 2022, that her son-in-law recovered from the ashes of her home that was destroyed by a wildfire on the outskirts of Flagstaff, Ariz. The wildfire forced the evacuation of hundreds of homes and animals. (AP Photo\/Felicia Fonseca)<\/span>Felicia Fonseca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"This
This Twitter photo provided by Zak Pressley shows a wildfire burning in Doney Park in Coconino County, Ariz., on Tuesday, April 19, 2022. An Arizona wildfire doubled in size overnight into Wednesday, a day after heavy winds kicked up a towering wall of flames outside a northern Arizona tourist and college town, ripping through two dozen structures and sending residents of more than 700 homes scrambling to flee. (Zak Pressley via AP)<\/span>Zak Pressley<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"This
This Wednesday April 20, 2022, photo provided by Bill Wells shows his home on the outskirts of Flagstaff, Ariz., destroyed by a wildfire on Tuesday, April 19, 2022. The wind-whipped wildfire has forced the evacuation of hundreds of homes and animals. (Bill Wells via AP)<\/span>Bill Wells<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Davis
Davis Bedient lifts a goat into the bed of his pickup on Tuesday, April 19, 2022, in Flagstaff, Ariz., as Kelsey McLennon leads another. The pair came to the Coconino Humane Association to foster a dog and the two goats to make room for animals evacuated from a wind-driven wildfire that forced the evacuation of more than 700 homes and numerous animals. (Jake Bacon\/Arizona Daily Sun via AP)<\/span>Jake Bacon<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"In
In this photo provided by the Coconino National Forest, the Tunnel Fire burns near Flagstaff, Ariz., on Tuesday, April 19, 2022. An Arizona wildfire doubled in size overnight into Wednesday, a day after heavy winds kicked up a towering wall of flames outside a northern Arizona tourist and college town, ripping through two dozen structures and sending residents of more than 700 homes scrambling to flee. (Coconino National Forest via AP)<\/span>Uncredited<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"This
This Wednesday April 20, 2022, photo provided by Bill Wells shows his home on the outskirts of Flagstaff, Ariz., destroyed by a wildfire on Tuesday, April 19, 2022. The wind-whipped wildfire has forced the evacuation of hundreds of homes and animals. (Bill Wells via AP)<\/span>Bill Wells<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"This
This Wednesday April 20, 2022, photo provided by Bill Wells shows his home on the outskirts of Flagstaff, Ariz., destroyed by a wildfire on Tuesday, April 19, 2022. The wind-whipped wildfire has forced the evacuation of hundreds of homes and animals. (Bill Wells via AP)<\/span>Bill Wells<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Lily,
Lily, a German shepherd hybrid, gives her owner, Lisa Wells, a kiss as they wait for family in the parking lot on the outskirts of Flagstaff, Ariz., on Wednesday, April 20, 2022. Wells and her family evacuated because of a wildfire that destroyed their home. (AP Photo\/Felicia Fonseca)<\/span>Felicia Fonseca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

National Weather Service issues red flag warning for Thursday<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":41082,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[3586],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-41081","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-arizona"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41081","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41081"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41081\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41082"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41081"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41081"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41081"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=41081"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}