Arizona Wildfire Grows; Firefighters Gaining on California Blaze That Destroyed 6 Homes

A number of multimillion-dollar homes were in danger of falling Thursday in Arizona as firefighters for another day did battle with a wildfire that was threatening an area some 20 miles from Phoenix.

Officials said some 30,000 acres had been blackened to date and more than 200 homeowners had been evacuated. Authorities reportedly were escorting residents back to their homes to retrieve pets.

Phoenix television stations reported that some 250 homes were evacuated in the Tonto Hills area because of the Cave Creek Complex fire (See West News). A pair homes in Desert Mountains were evacuated and 10 buildings have reportedly been burned by the fire.

Officials said that the wildfire reportedly was a result of a pair of lightning-caused blazes that had hit earlier in the week.

To the west in California, a wildfire burning some 3,000 acres of desert brush was slowly being contained Thursday morning.

The fire reportedly brought down six homes, but no major injuries were reported.

Editor’s note: See more on the fires in West news.