Fire crews battle raging brush fire in northwest Arizona

May 31, 1999
Web posted at: 5:53 PM EDT (2153 GMT)

ARIZONA STRIP, Arizona (CNN) -- Hundreds of firefighters were working Monday to control a lightning-sparked brush fire in northwestern Arizona that has torched nearly 11,000 acres amid windy and extremely dry conditions.

Spurred by winds up to 49 mph, wildfires have charred 10,800 acres in the Arizona Strip, a 3-million-acre stretch of rural land in the northwestern corner of the state between the Grand Canyon and the Arizona-Utah border.

No injuries have been reported, but officials said the blaze is threatening ranch outbuildings, livestock and the habitat of the endangered desert tortoise. Officials also expressed concern over rattlesnakes and steep cliffs that could pose a danger to fire crews.

About 250 firefighters from six states were working to control the blaze, which began Friday and has moved quickly through a drought-stricken region filled with oily brush and parched pinon and juniper trees.

"The brush it is burning in is extremely dry," said Bette Arial, spokeswoman for the Federal Bureau of Land Management, which controls the Arizona Strip. "It's almost like gasoline was poured on it."

The fire is 10 percent contained at this point. Arial said officials were concerned by "the sheer number of acreage" burned so far and how rapidly the fire spread from a few hundred acres Saturday to nearly 11,000 Monday.

The winds and heat were so intense Saturday it forced fire crews to move their camps several times, Arial said.

Smoke has shrouded the region, causing low visibility along roads.