PHOENIX -- Firefighters Sunday battled a stubborn, wind-swept wildfire that has charred more than 5,370 acres in a rugged stretch of the Tonto National Forest in Arizona, fire officials said.
About 450 firefighters were trying to extinguish the state's first major wildfire this year, a human-caused blaze that apparently started four days ago in the forest's Sierra Ancha Wilderness area 125 miles northeast of Phoenix.Officials said the fire, which began in the Coon Creek drainage area of the Sierra Ancha, was about 10 percent contained, but they had no estimate on when it would be fully brought under control.
"This is a very, very difficult and complex fire," said Bill Torres, a forest spokesman. "There are so many things that are making this a hard one to fight."
Eleven specially trained "hotshot" firefighting teams and five other crews reportedly were making progress in battling the blaze, despite 25 mph winds, bone-dry conditions, steep terrain and limited access.
Four helicopters and four air tankers also have been brought to the scene. A 30-person interagency team is overseeing firefighting efforts, which already have cost more than $1 million.
Forecasters with the National Weather Service said the crews should be getting some assistance from the weather, with reduced winds and lower temperatures predicted for the area.
"It also looks like the winds are going to push the fire where it already has burned," said Darren McCollum, a weather service meteorologist. "That should really help."
The wildfire is believed to have started at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, racing through an area dense with heavy underbrush, Ponderosa pine, pinion and juniper.