Arizona Firefighters Try To Contain Two Massive Arizona Fires, Smoke Visible In SE Colorado

[robdogbucky]

TUCSON, Ariz. — Crews on Saturday worked to protect several small Arizona communities from two large wildfires by clearing away brush near homes and planning to set fires aimed at robbing the blazes of their fuel.

The Wallow Fire, near the White Mountain community of Alpine, grew to 218 square miles, or more than 140,000 acres, by Saturday morning.

The fire is the third largest in state history, with its smoke visible in parts of southern Colorado. Fire officials said they had zero containment of the fire near the New Mexico-Arizona state line, which has forced an unknown number of people to evacuate. The fire has burned four summer rental cabins since it started May 29, the U.S. Forest Service said.

Crews were working to protect homes in Alpine and nearby Nutrioso from the fire and blowing embers that could start smaller, spot fires. The fire had reached Alpine's outskirts and was about two miles away from homes in Nutrioso, said Bob Dyson, a spokesman for the team fighting the blaze...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/05/arizona-firefighters-try-_n_871472.html

[Kolesar]

1. 250 miles from Colorado

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=Alpine,+AZ+85938&daddr=US-491+N&geocode=FSx7BAIdpJt--Sm_ZZ61YUgmhzF8NpByJu-X3Q%3BFZqrNQIdtMOE-Q&gl=us&hl=en&mra=me&mrsp=1&sz=8&sll=36.4036,-108.165894&sspn=2.453616,3.532104&ie=UTF8&ll=36.4036,-108.171387&spn=4.906578,7.064209&z=7

[DavidDvorkin]

2. We have brown, murky skies in Denver

The TV weatherman says it's due to the Arizona fires.

My eyes are burning much of the time. I can't imagine how much worse it must be in Arizona.