Authorities: Second wildfire forces more evacuations near Flagstaff, Ariz.

2nd fire forces evacuations near Flagstaff, Ariz.

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — A thick plume of smoke blotted out the blue sky north of Flagstaff on Sunday afternoon as a second wildfire moved through the area, forcing the evacuation of additional homes and an animal shelter.

Coconino County authorities said residents of the Timberline Estates, Wupatki Trails and Fernwood neighborhoods were being asked to leave their homes. Authorities couldn’t immediately say how many people were affected.

The Second Chance Animal Shelter also was being evacuated.

About 170 homes already were evacuated Sunday because of the 350-acre Hardy wildfire on the southeastern side of Flagstaff, which started Saturday.

The second blaze was spotted Sunday on the north end of Shultz Pass. Coconino National Forest spokeswoman Karen Malis-Clark said the fire was torching treetops and sending up a “pretty impressive towering column of smoke.”

Hot shot crews, helicopters and air tankers were fighting the flames.

A shelter that had been set up by the American Red Cross at a Flagstaff middle school for residents displaced by the Hardy fire also was being used for evacuees from the Shultz fire.

Fire officials did not know what sparked the second blaze. But a California man was arrested Sunday on suspicion of starting the Hardy fire by leaving behind hot coals at a campsite just outside the city.

Randall Wayne Nicholson, 54, was arrested on a misdemeanor charge of burning of a wildland, city spokeswoman Kimberly Ott said. Nicholson, whose hometown was not immediately available, was being held on a $2,500 bond at the Coconino County jail. It was unknown if he had an attorney.

Authorities said the Hardy fire started in a wooded area a couple of miles from downtown after Nicholson built a small campfire for either cooking or making coffee. Investigators believe he dumped coals from the fire on the ground before leaving the site.

“As far as we understand, this was not a deliberate act. It was a careless act,” Ott said.

The fire quickly spread up a hill and threatened homes in two neighborhoods. Crews worked overnight and Sunday to protect structures and establish a perimeter around the blaze. But Coconino County spokeswoman Joanne Keene said fire officials have not declared any part of the fire contained.

“The winds are expected to pick up, and the latest I’ve heard is about 30 mph so we’re concerned about that,” she said.

Evacuation orders for 170 homes remained in place, and a park and popular bike trail were closed as a precaution, Keene said. The Little America Hotel also was briefly evacuated.

The Hardy fire also sent smoke through parts of Flagstaff and caused traffic to back up on Interstate 40. Authorities said no homes or buildings had been burned.

Heavy tankers and three aircraft were on standby in case ground crews needed help.

Fires also had crews busy Sunday near Williams, Ariz., and in Colorado and New Mexico.

High winds and rugged terrain kept ground crews and aircraft from getting close to a wildfire in southern Colorado’s Great Sand Dunes National Park. The fire grew to 4,500 acres.

In New Mexico, crews were making progress on the South Fork fire, which had charred more than 11,150 acres in steep, inaccessible terrain in the Jemez Mountains.

Rick Ochoa of the National Interagency Fire Center in Idaho said officials had anticipated a much bigger fire season in the Northwest, but a series of moisture-bearing storms in the region lessened the fire activity at higher elevations. He said the opposite has been true in the Southwest.

“The Southwest had a wet winter and then the spring turned dry. Because we’ve had all of these storms up in the northwest, that’s brought a lot more wind to the Southwest, so the combination of a dry and windy spring has increased the fire potential quite a bit in the Southwest,” he said.