Wildfires destroy thousands of acres in Arizona

Raging wildfires in the US state of Arizona have destroyed thousands of acres of woodland, consuming half a dozen buildings and threatening a small town. Hundreds of firefighters have battled several Arizona wildfires since Monday which have burnt 5,000 acres (28 square kilometers) of forest and grassland, destroyed at least a half a dozen buildings and made its way towards a small town. The Sunflower Fire, the largest of at least four infernos in the central and eastern regions of the state, burned 11 square kilometers in the Tonto National Forest, with only five percent contained at the end of the day. Hundreds of residents in the Crown King community were evacuated after the human-caused Gladiator Fire burned approximately 600 acres of the Prescott National Forest and destroyed three buildings. Meanwhile, the lighting-ignited Elwood Fire on the San Carlos Apache reservation charred more than 1,100 acres of forest; the Bull Flat Fire on the Fort Apache reservation burned 575 acres of grassland and threatened a fish hatchery. Strong and erratic winds and dry weather contributed to the intensity of the fires that also threatened public facilities and power lines in the area. The blazes mark the first major wildfires of the season for the state this year. Last year, 2,000 blazes charred approximately 3,900 square kilometers of land, with the so-called Wallow Fire setting the record as the largest blaze in the state's history, scorching about 2,200 square kilometers of prime forest land.