High Winds Make Ariz. Wildfires Spread Quickly

Updated at 4:20 p.m. EDT.

Fire crews battling a wildfire northeast of Flagstaff that quickly grew to more than 13 square miles were working Monday to protect homes in the fire's path.

Residents of several hundred homes remained under evacuation orders as the blaze moved within 500 yards of some of those homes, fire spokesman Eric Neitzel said Monday.

Firefighters worked feverishly overnight to build a containment line between forest land and the communities. They also were digging trenches, clearing out dry brush from around homes and spraying them down in hopes they will be spared, Neitzel said.

The combination of high temperatures, low humidity and high winds quickly pushed the fire that broke out Sunday, sending rolling clouds of black and gray smoke into what had been a clear blue sky. No structures have burned in the blaze, which was estimated at 8,849 acres early Monday, with zero containment.

Monday's forecast called for sustained winds of up to 20 miles per hour and gusts of more than 30 miles an hour.

The fire also was abutting U.S. 89, a key route to Grand Canyon National Park, and officials remained concerned that high winds could cause the fire to leap across the roadway. U.S. 89 north of Flagstaff remained closed near the fire scene and motorists were being rerouted.

Eight air tankers have been aiding ground crews to suppress the blaze, but winds determine whether those air resources can go up. A federal management team took over direction of the firefighting effort Monday, a move that will expand access to resources.

The fire was the second that broke out in two days in the Flagstaff area, both of which spurred evacuations across this forested mountain city. Officials diverted resources from the first blaze reported Saturday in southeastern Flagstaff to the more erratic Schultz fire.

There have been no reports of serious injury in either blaze.

Fire officials have scheduled a meeting Monday evening to update residents on the suppression efforts.

A third fire burning 11 miles northeast of nearby Williams is 60 percent contained after burning 3,420 acres.

A California man was arrested Sunday on suspicion of starting the fire that erupted Saturday by leaving behind hot coals at a campsite in a wooded area about two miles from downtown Flagstaff.

"As far as we understand, this was not a deliberate act. It was a careless act," said Kimberly Ott, spokeswoman for the northern Arizona city of about 60,000.

Randall Wayne Nicholson, 54, was arrested on a misdemeanor charge of burning of a wildland, Ott said. Nicholson, whose hometown was not immediately available, was being held on a $2,500 bond at the Coconino County jail. It was unknown if he had an attorney.

The fire Nicholson is accused of starting quickly spread up a hill and threatened homes in two neighborhoods. Crews worked overnight and Sunday to protect structures and establish a perimeter around the blaze, but Coconino County spokeswoman Joanne Keene said fire officials have not declared any part of the fire contained.

Other wildfires in the West also kept firefighters busy.

In Colorado, firefighters east of the Great Sand Dunes National Park in southern Colorado battled a fire burning amid high winds rugged terrain. The fire grew to 4,713 acres by Sunday. In New Mexico, fire officials continued to make progress on two wildfires, including a fire that charred more than 13,158 acres in inaccessible terrain in the Jemez Mountains.