Arizona wildfire threatens power transmission lines

SPRINGERVILLE, Ariz. — A raging forest fire in eastern Arizona that has forced thousands from their homes headed Wednesday for a pair of transmission lines that supply electricity to hundreds of thousands of people as far east as Texas.

The 607-square-mile blaze is expected to reach the power lines as early as Friday. If the lines are damaged, parts of New Mexico and Texas could face rolling blackouts.

AP Photo/Jae C. Hong

Firefighter Rigoberto Torres, of Orange Cove, Calif., walks along the road while watching a flame during the Wallow fire in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest near Springerville, Ariz., Tuesday. Officials say the blaze has already burned 486 square miles and winds have been driving the flames 5 to 8 miles a day since the fire began a week ago.

For now, firefighters who have helped keep the flames away from several towns in eastern Arizona are concerned that high winds expected later Wednesday could carry embers that can cause new, smaller spot fires.

"We have a lot of people out there who are going to be doing nothing but looking for spots and putting those things out if they see them," fire information officer Jim Whittington said.

The blaze has blackened about 389,000 acres and destroyed 11 buildings, primarily in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest. No serious injuries have been reported.

Fire crews had furiously worked to protect the town of Eagar and Springerville on Tuesday, and it appeared to pay off. They created barriers between the towns and the fire and burned out combustible material, such as brush and trees.

"It's looking good to us. It did what the team said it would do when it came over the hill toward town," Apache County Sheriff's Office Chief Deputy Brannon Eagar said. He added: "It worked out perfectly."

The fire prompted Texas-based El Paso Electric to issue warnings of possible power interruptions for its customers in southern New Mexico and West Texas.

The company uses two high voltage lines to bring electricity from the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station west of Phoenix to the two states. Losing the lines would cut off about 40 percent of the utility's supply, possibly triggering the rolling blackouts among its 372,000 customers.

Winds in the area were expected to gust up to 35 mph on Wednesday. Officials in Catron County, N.M., told residents of Luna to be prepared to leave if winds push the blaze into western New Mexico.

About half of the 4,000 residents who call Eagar home were forced to leave Tuesday as the fire licked the ridges surrounding the area. Those in neighboring Springerville worried as they awaited word of whether they too will have to flee.

On Wednesday afternoon, authorities ordered more evacuations as the wildfire pushed closer Eagar and Springerville.

The evacuation area did not contain a lot of homes, but the airport and a grocery store are located there.

About half of Eagar was ordered evacuated on Tuesday, but this is the first order that affects nearby Springerville. Most of that town's residents are not affected.

The blaze, burning in mainly ponderosa pine forest, was sparked May 29 by what authorities believe was an unattended campfire. It became the second-largest in Arizona history on Tuesday.

It has cast smoke as far east as Iowa and forced some planes to divert from Albuquerque, N.M., some 200 miles away.

Firefighters were also trying to protect the mountain towns of Alpine, Greer and Nutrioso. They were able to keep it out of the canyons surrounding the small resort town of Greer on Tuesday.

Thousands of firefighters, including many from several western states and as far away as New York, are already helping.

Dozens of them worked Tuesday alongside a stretch of U.S. 191 about two miles outside of Springerville, burning vegetation along one side of the highway to keep the approaching fire from jumping across and heading into town. Other crews removed brush from around homes near the foothills.

Angie Colwell, her husband Mike and their two children loaded up their belongings as authorities ordered their Eagar neighborhood to evacuate.

"We love the mountains and we're just afraid of what's going to be left after the fire comes through," Colwell said.

In all, about 7,000 people have been ordered to prepare for evacuation in recent days.

With a blaze as large as this being driven by unpredictable and gusty winds, putting the fire out is a gargantuan task.