More than 700 homes have been evacuated due to a wildfire which kicked up a towering wall of flames outside a northern Arizona tourist town. Coconino County officials said during an evening news conference that 766 homes and 1,000 animals had been evacuated. The fire was moving north-east away from the more heavily populated areas of Flagstaff, home to Northern Arizona University, and toward Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument, said Coconino National Forest spokesman Brady Smith. Arizona Public Service Co, the state’s largest utility, shut off power to about 625 customers to keep firefighters safe. About 200 firefighters were battling the flames, but more are expected as a top-level national management team takes over later this week.

Source: The Star April 20, 2022 05:17 UTC