The Associated Press
PHOENIX — Fire crews that had initially feared hot, windy weather would inflame a wildfire that burned lazily on the edge of Grand Canyon National Park expressed confidence the fire would not grow.
Meanwhile, authorities in New Mexico put hundreds of residents of mountainside homes and two nearby communities on alert as a wildfire there jumped containment lines.
Firefighters in Arizona were able to hold the 3.2-square-mile (8.3-square-kilometer) fire behind containment lines despite wind gusts as high as 30 mph (48 kph); it was 60 percent contained. Winds were expected to be calmer Thursday, when crews planned to put out hot spots.
“It’s looking good,” said U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman Susan Brown. “The winds weren’t as bad as what they were predicting.”
Gusts as high as 45 mph (72 kph) had been predicted, and a wind advisory had been put in effect. The 2,030-acre (822-hectare) fire has been burning ponderosa pine and has come within a mile (1.6 kilometers) of the park’s southern boundary.
Crews felt confident the fire would not grow any further, Brown said.
The blaze was about 10 miles (16 kilometers) southeast of the Grand Canyon Village but was moving away from the popular tourist site. No homes were threatened, and businesses and freeways remained open.
The fire grew rapidly after being spotted Tuesday afternoon. Authorities believe it was caused by humans and were investigating.
Windy conditions in New Mexico led authorities to call for voluntary evacuations of more than 200 homes in the Manzano Mountains. The wildfire there was 95 percent contained before gusts pushed it over containment lines, state and Forest Service authorities said.
Residents of the communities of Manzano and Tajique were also put on notice, and a shelter was set up in a nearby community.
Firefighters also reported progress against wildfires near Reno, Nevada, and in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains northeast of Los Angeles.
Diminished wind and temperatures near freezing during the night helped firefighters working on the blaze south of Reno, Nevada.
The fire was estimated at about 1.5 square miles (3.88 sq. kilometers), and was 75 percent contained, officials said.
In Southern California, which also had higher humidity and lower temperatures, the wildfire that threatened hundreds of homes in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains was reduced to mostly embers and was nearly contained, fire officials said Wednesday.
Another 700-acre blaze burned uncontained in the San Jacinto Wilderness of the San Bernardino National Forest, about 100 miles (161 kilometers) southeast of Los Angeles.