KNAU and Arizona News

A wildfire raging out of control in southwestern New Mexico grew by 30 square miles overnight Monday.  The massive blaze is on track to become the largest in the state's history.

Whipped by strong winds, the Whitewater Baldy Complex fire is expected to break the record set by last year's devastating Las Conchas wildfire that scorched 244 square miles.  It's burned at least a dozen summer cabins and is a long way from containment. 

Fire Information Officer Jerry Perry says low humidities and prolonged drought are complicating the fire-fighting effort.  Officials have had little time to assess the damage. 

For several years the US Drug Enforcement Administration has been eradicating millions of marijuana plants in national parks and forests. And it’s still a major problem. Memorial Day weekend marks the launch of camping and hiking season. So backpackers should be on the lookout.

Tyler Bolen is a law enforcement officer in the Coconino National Forest. There’s a high fire danger, so today he’s writing a lot of warnings for people, like a young camper named Ryan, who is smoking in the woods.

Most of the state is under some type of high wind advisory today. And, the strongest gusts are yet to come.

Winds have been blowing throughout the day at around 40 miles per hour. But weather officials expect them to pick up significantly by this evening.

Chris Outler, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Flagstaff, said, "Just east of Flagstaff in the Doney Park area tends to be the most susceptible to high winds and that’s where we’re expecting to see some of the strongest gusts today possibly exceeding 60, maybe 65 miles per hour”

A low pressure system is driving the high winds, which are expected to continue tomorrow. Outler says significant rainfall from this system is a longshot.  

The Gladiator Fire has topped 16,000 acres, but the blaze has slowed considerably this week.  

It grew by leaps and bounds in its early days. 

A major reason has been the Red Flag weather warnings that have plagued most of the 12 days the fire has been burning.

But proper planning and frequent reevaluation has helped keep the fire at bay.

Gerry Perry with the Gladiator Fire Incident Management Team said, "“Every day there’s a strategy that’s briefed, and the firefighters are deployed in accordance with that strategy.”

He also adds that it’s not just management; it’s the crew members who are clearing ground to create fire lines.

“These crews have worked 15-hour days putting in fire line," Perry said.

Diners, motor inns and gas stations -- those were standard sites on Route 66 for decades as tourists made their way through Northern Arizona.

That is until Interstate 40 was built.   

“When I-40 came through the gas stations and so forth all moved over to 1-40 leaving behind them their old gas stations.”

That’s Karl Eberhard, Flagstaff’s city architect.

He says the tanks at those abandoned gas stations eventually began leaking petroleum into the water table.

A $700,000 grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will help to identify problem spots along Route 66 in Flagstaff, Winslow and Holbrook, as well as other sites in Coconino and Navajo counties.

The Gladiator Fire grew only a small amount Wednesday despite weather conditions that had previously made the fire grow rapidly.  

The fire's damage now stands at 15,600 acres.  The fire made no significant gains on Wednesday. 

Containment levels have also stayed the same at 26%.

Large flames continue to burn on the interior of the fire, but fire lines and hot shot crews are containing the spread of the fire.

High winds and low humidity continue to keep a red flag warning in effect in the area.

Southwesterly winds will keep the fire blowing away from Crown King and Tower Mountain until the weekend.