Arizona fire fight moves to N.M. border

RESERVE, N.M. -- Crews who've been battling a massive wildfire in eastern Arizona for two weeks shifted their focus Monday to New Mexico, where they lit fires to stop its advance and protect another mountain town in its path.

In the opposite corner of New Mexico, near the Colorado border, winds kicked up flames at a wildfire that had already forced evacuations and closed 20 miles of the main north-south highway through both states.

"We're watching trees explode before our eyes. It's horrendous," said Barbara Riley, a schoolteacher and bed-and-breakfast owner in Raton, in northeastern New Mexico.

The eastern Arizona fire has been burning since Memorial Day; efforts to stop its spread finally met with success over the weekend as high winds caused no major growth.

Residents of two Arizona towns on the fire's northern edge were allowed to go back home Sunday, and thousands streamed into Eagar and Springerville through the day. Crews have stopped its northern advance and are now trying to corral its eastern advance into New Mexico by burning a line in front of the fire that it can't cross.

In Luna, N.M., about five miles from the Arizona line, crews lit fires to keep the flames from getting into town, Catron County Undersheriff Ian Fletcher said Monday. The operation began Sunday night, and the 200 or so residents did not have to leave. Fletcher said an evacuation plan is in place in case the situation changes.

"It's holding, and they're pretty confident this morning," Fletcher said. "These guys are getting after it. It's kind of neat to see. I was concerned earlier, but they seem to have it wrapped up pretty well, or it's going well for them right now."

The wildfire near the New Mexico-Colorado border ballooned to 6,000 acres, or 9 square miles, Monday.

The Track Fire started on the west side of Interstate 25 and jumped to the east side Sunday afternoon. It forced the evacuation of 200 homes and businesses and prompted the closure of Interstate 25 from Trinidad, Colo., to Raton, N.M.

Crews braced for the worst Monday as the blaze picked up and more wind was forecast for the afternoon.

The eastern Arizona fire had grown to 706 square miles by Monday morning, or more than 452,000 acres, and was just 10 percent contained. But firefighters have been sounding increasingly confident at their daily briefings that their efforts were paying off.

The Wallow Fire is the second largest in state history, although it has burned only 31 homes and four rental cabins, a fraction of the largest. That fire was the 2002 Rodeo-Chediski, which burned 732 square miles and destroyed 491 buildings.

Although about 7,000 residents of Eagar and Springerville were allowed to go home, about 2,700 others who live in several Arizona resort communities in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest remained under an evacuation order.

The hamlets of Alpine, Nutrioso and Greer were the largest, and fire officials said Monday they were working to make the areas safe for residents to go home, possibly later this week.

The dangers include burned trees that could snap or blow over in winds, said Mark Wade, commanding the fire effort in Greer.

That town, considered the jewel of eastern Arizona's summer havens, lost more than 20 homes as flame moved into the valley last week. It includes lodges and hundreds of old and new cabins, including one owned by U.S. Sen. Jon Kyl, who was forced to evacuate on June 4.

Despite losing the homes and a couple dozen outbuildings, the fire did not move into the Greer valley itself.

Several other fires were burning around Arizona on Monday, including a huge blaze near the southeastern border town of Portal that has burned more than 232 square miles since it broke out May 8. It is about 50 percent contained. Another fire that broke out Sunday outside Sierra Vista near the Coronado National Memorial has forced evacuations.

In southern Colorado, a wildfire forced the evacuation of a church camp. Crews were attacking the fire near Westcliffe from the air Monday. It broke out Sunday afternoon and spread quickly in dry conditions. In southeastern Colorado, crews are close to containing three large wildfires that broke out last week.

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Christie reported from Phoenix.