Arizona Sheriff’s Office: Flagstaff-Area Wildfire Burned 30 Homes

Firefighters working to keep more homes from burning on the edge of a mountain town in northern Arizona were treated to scattered showers and cooler temperatures early Friday, but the favorable weather was not expected to last as more ferocious winds were forecast to batter parts of Arizona and all of New Mexico through the weekend.

Flames stretching 100 feet (30 meters) had raced through rural neighborhoods near Flagstaff just days earlier. It wasn’t until Thursday that a break in the weather allowed authorities to enter the charred area to survey the damage.

They found 30 homes and numerous other buildings had been destroyed, with sheriff’s deputies saying more than 100 properties were affected.

Crews have cleared containment lines around much of the fire but it remained officially at zero containment because of concern the lines might not keep the fire in check during strong winds, fire spokesman Dick Fleishman said Friday.

Spirits were lifted Thursday as helicopters were able to start dropping water on that blaze for the first time.