It seems like there are all sorts of natural disasters looming around us lately. Tornadoes moving throughout the south and up to the northeastern part of the United States aren’t the only problem we’ve got. Now the folks living in Arizona are dealing with raging fires. This type of weather may cause you to think twice before moving to one of these regions.
This past weekend, crews throughout the state worked hard to protect several Arizona neighborhoods from two wildfires that could not be contained. Firefighters do this by clearing away brush near standing homes and setting additional fires. The other fires starve the bigger blazes of fuel. If these efforts are unsuccessful, Arizona residents will be forced to relocate.
On Saturday morning, one of the fires, called the Wallow Fire, covered more than 140,000 square acres – that’s about 218 square miles. It is the third largest wildfire in the history of Arizona. In fact, some parts of Colorado could even see the smoke.
Unfortunately, the fire has not been easily contained. Officials have had no success in containing the blaze, especially near the New Mexico-Arizona border. As a result, many residents have moved temporarily to safer locations. Many people have packed up their homes and left to save their lives. Sadly, the same may not be true of their homes in the near future.
The fire, which started on May 29, has burned down at least four summer rental homes. If the fires keep up, we may see more houses damaged and more people moving from the affected areas.
Jon Huser
