A fast-growing forest fire in California’s National Forest of California has grown to nearly 1,000 acres in just over a day, leading to road closures and the evacuation of much of the community about 30 miles north of San Bernardino.
The blaze, called Sheep Fire, is one of more than 30 wildfires that were active Monday and burned about one million acres in five states, according to the National Interdepartmental Fire Center. The fires, combined with heat waves in the southwestern part, were caused by persistent dry and wind conditions.
The fires have sparked mandatory evacuations in Arizona and Southern California. The biggest fires were in New Mexico, where they threatened structures and spread to 680,000 acres in the state’s national forests, the fire center said on Monday.
The cause of the fire is under investigation, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said, saying the fire was “particularly challenging due to dense vegetation, steep terrain and strong and erratic winds.”
As of Monday afternoon, orders to evacuate much of Wrightwood, a 4,500-strong community, remain in effect, said Mara Rodriguez, a spokeswoman for the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Office. Wrightwood, 6,000 feet above the San Gabriel Mountains, is a mountain resort 15 miles off the Interstate, according to its website.
Warnings with a red flag indicating an increased risk of fire were in effect on Monday for more than three million people in Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah.
Dense smoke from US 89 was seen in northern Arizona on Monday, which was closed north of Flagstaff, the Arizona Department of Transportation said. Two major forest fires, Pipeline and Haywire Fires, have sparked multiple evacuations and raised warnings of potential additional evacuation orders.
The pipeline fire, first reported Sunday morning just six miles north of Flagstaff, rose to about 5,000 acres late Monday night, according to the National Interdepartmental Fire Department.
The U.S. Forest Service said Sunday that it had arrested a 57-year-old man in connection with a gas pipeline fire and accused him of unspecified violations of natural resources. In a press release, the service did not name the man and said it would not discuss details of the investigation.
Early Monday morning, a fire in Haywire began northeast of a gas pipeline fire, officials in Coconino County, Arizona, said. In six hours, 1,600 acres had already been burned. The Meteorological Service in Flagstaff said Monday had brought critical fire conditions to the area. Weaker winds are expected to return by mid-week, with precipitation and thunderstorms possible by Friday.
Dangerous heat is expected to spread from the Midwest to the Southeast by mid-week. As of early Tuesday morning, more than 110 million people in the southern and central United States had been subjected to heat warnings or warnings, according to the weather service.
Mike Ives contributed to the report.
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