Flagstaff Witnesses Wild Fire

FLAGSTAFF (GaeaTimes.com)- Flagstaff witnessed a wild fire which sprang up on Saturday and provoked the authorities to issue orders for evacuation of the nearby houses and Little America Hotel. Soon after the fire, Flagstaff authorities locked down the Interstate 40 and the traffic was re-routed.

It was in the afternoon when the wild fire in Flagstaff was reported by the local authorities. By the time the fire fighters reached the spot, the fire had already burned down a vast stretch of area over 600 acres. The authorities have already issued orders for 200 evacuations due to the wild fire. On Saturday, the thick smoke from the wild fire kept interfering with the evacuation and the Flagstaff authorities finally called off the evacuation and rescheduled it for Sunday. Up till now 16 families from Flagstaff have been already moved to a safe shelter in a middle school. Animals from the Coconino Humane Society were also moved to a safe place towards the northern part of the city.

Flagstaff authorities employed helicopters and air tankers to help the fire fighters on ground bring the flames under control. After a few hours, the Flagstaff firefighters were able to bring down the flames which had reached a height of 10 feet. The flames were brought down to a normal height of 3 feet which made it easy for the fire crew on ground to extinguish it. Capt. Mark Johnson who happens to the chief for Flagstaff Fire Team told the media that his crew shall have the entire area under control by Sunday. Flagstaff authorities said that they shall look further into the case to figure out the source for this wild fire.