Wildfires Burn in 12 States; 11,000 Evacuated
As the largest wildfire in Arizona state history continued to burn in the eastern central part of the state on Wednesday, firefighters in 11 other states were busy battling blazes.
Over 10,000 firefighters were working to contain 53 large wildfires, with more than 7,000 working in Arizona and New Mexico, CNN reported.
On a local note firefighters from Bridger-Teton National Forest and Grand Teton National Park have been assisting with blazes in the region. Over 60 Wyoming firefighters, their equipment as well as a Sublette County fire engine with crew are currently on assignments in Arizona, New Mexico and the western part of Texas.
Fire engines from Moose and Kemmerer Wyoming have also been waiting for assignments to the region. A Teton interagency contract helicopter was also deployed with a crew of six to New Mexico to fight the Pacheco fire.
In Arizona, flames had burned nearly 528,000 acres and more than 11,000 people had been evacuated.
In Texas, a wildfire that sparked on Tuesday in an area northwest of Houston forced thousands to evacuate, Reuters reported. That fire destroyed at least 26 homes and burned across more than 4,000 acres.
In Florida, two firefighters were killed on Monday while battling blazes in the northern part of the state.
According to the US Forest Service the number of wildfires so far this year is below the 10-year average, but the number of acres burned is three times the 10-year average.
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