Wildfire Strands Grand Canyon Tourists

A 15,500-acre wildfire in Grand Canyon National Park prompted officials to close several roads, blocking the exits for an unknown number of tourists on the North Rim on Saturday.

Crews worked on a plan to escort visitors out of the park as soon as possible, but it depended upon fire conditions. The North Rim is significantly more remote and less popular than the park's main South Rim entrance.

The blaze, which had not threatened any property, was allowed to burn since it was discovered June 8 in the Kaibab National Forest after a series of lightning strikes.

But strong winds pushed the flames into areas without fire lines this week and forced the roads closed Saturday morning, said Steve Ritchie, a spokesman with the team fighting the fire.

Arizona Highway 89A is closed about 10 miles east of Jacob Lake because of the fire, and officials closed Highway 67, the North Rim Parkway to Grand Canyon National Park.

Near Sedona, dozens of residents who were evacuated from scenic Oak Creek Canyon because of a 4,200-acre wildfire a week ago returned to their homes Saturday as crews reinforced the lines around the blaze, officials said.

"I get to go home, take a shower and put on some clean clothes," said 23-year-old Dustin Johnson, who stayed with his brother in a nearby town during the evacuation.

Still hundreds more residents from the roughly 430 homes lining the narrow canyon in northern Arizona must continue to stay elsewhere.

Crews had become confident that two days of work to strengthen the lines keeping flames from moving farther north up the canyon had been successful.

"Things are actually looking quite well," said David Eaker, a fire information officer. "They've just done a lot of good work."

No homes have burned. Officials said the fire was 20 percent contained, with full containment predicted by Wednesday, barring any weather disturbances that could push the flames.

The fire started June 18 north of Sedona as a transient's campfire. About 720 firefighters have been clearing brush, wetting down buildings and setting backfires to remove fuel from the fire's path.

It is the second fire in the Sedona area, about 90 miles north of Phoenix, in the past month. An 836-acre wildfire destroyed five buildings near the Village of Oak Creek, south of Sedona, in early June and forced the evacuation of about 200 people.

Elsewhere, a nearly 48,000-acre blaze in southwestern New Mexico's Gila National Forest was 10 percent contained Saturday. It had destroyed a cabin and was threatening about 80 other structures. It was started by a campfire, forest officials said.

Thunderstorms were forecast. "There's a mixed blessing there of getting some moisture, but also high winds that are associated with that," said Wayne Johnson, fire information officer.

In Southern California, a 15,000-acre wildfire in Los Padres National Forest was 78 percent contained and crews hoped to have it fully contained by late Sunday, a U.S. Forest Service statement said. The blaze 45 miles east of Santa Maria was started Monday by an electrical short circuit, and had destroyed two sheds and three oil company trailers.

Wildfires have charred nearly 3.2 million acres nationwide so far this year, well ahead of the average of just over 1 million acres by this time, the National Interagency Fire Center reported. Huge grass fires that swept Texas and Oklahoma this spring account for much of the increase.
AMANDA LEE MYERS