SUPERIOR, Ariz. (AP) — Firefighters battling a wildfire that has forced the evacuation of about 250 homes in rugged country east of Phoenix expected more rapid growth Friday as low humidity and strong winds drive the blaze.
The human-caused fire in Tonto National Forest near Roosevelt Lake has grown to more than 100 square miles (259 sq. kilometers) since it started June 8.
Officials said it remained just 42% contained and is burning unchecked to the north and east.
A command team said crews are protecting structures in the Top of the World community and the Roosevelt area.
Gila County authorities ordered about 200 Roosevelt and Roosevelt Lake area residents to evacuate Thursday. The homes are within a 12-mile radius of a popular recreation area.
"It's a precautionary evacuation," said Christa Sadler, a fire information officer. "We had a weather pattern come into the area yesterday which had high temperatures, increased wind and low humidity."
The evacuation was called because the winds were expected to drive the fire toward Roosevelt.
"We wanted to make sure we gave the Roosevelt residents plenty of time to leave the area, gather their belongings and make sure they were safely out of the area for firefighters to do their jobs," Sadler said.
More than 1,100 people are assigned to battle the fire and protect homes, businesses and cooper mines in the region.
Smoke from the massive blaze was blowing to the northeast and prompted health warnings as far away as Gallup, New Mexico, nearly 300 miles (483 kilometers) away. The National Weather Service office in Albuquerque said to expect widespread reductions in visibility across large portions of western and central New Mexico because of the Arizona blaze. The state health department warned people in Cibola County, Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Los Alamos, Las Vegas and nearby communities to keep their windows closed.
Fire officials warned residents traveling along U.S. Route 60 between Superior and Miami, Arizona, to be wary of increased fire truck traffic in the area.
A campground was closed east of a dam at Roosevelt Lake, along with some roads and Tonto National Monument, home to two 700-year-old cliff dwellings. Sadler said firefighters wrapped original wood components of the dwellings with a fire-resistant material.
The fire has been burning through heavy brush and some Pinyon pine. Sadler said it was moving into areas that transition to grassland, which could help firefighters.
The fire is burning in what's typically the driest time of the year before the onset of heavy rain during the monsoon season. The amount of precipitation over the winter and spring otherwise has been above-normal in most areas.
Tonto National Forest was the first agency in Arizona to implement fire restrictions earlier this month that limit campfires and smoking to developed areas. Others are following suit.
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management's Colorado River District in western Arizona will be under the first stage of fire restrictions starting Friday.
Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management restrictions also start Friday and cover land in Gila, La Paz, Maricopa and Yuma counties, and Mohave County south of the Colorado River.
