Fire-displaced residents in Arizona community return

Alpine, nestled among aspen and spruce, will reopen at 10 a.m., according to the Apache County Sheriff's Office.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Residents of eastern Arizona hamlet alllowed home
• They were forced to flee large Wallow fire
• Red-flag alerts make for critical fire conditions in Arizona, New Mexico

Tucson, Arizona (CNN) -- Residents of a picturesque mountain community will be allowed to return home Saturday amid continued progress against a massive eastern Arizona wildfire.

Alpine, nestled among aspen and spruce, will reopen at 10 a.m., according to the Apache County Sheriff's Office. The community has a population of about 300, but many more seasonal visitors were forced to leave earlier this month.

The Wallow Fire, at 500,409 acres, was 38% contained.

A red-flag alert through the weekend indicates firefighting conditions may prove difficult. Wind gusts could top 40 miles per hour.

The 200-plus residents of Nutrioso, not far from Alpine, were allowed to go home Wednesday.

Conditions will be especially difficult Sunday at the Monument fire just south of Sierra Vista, Arizona, according to Glenn Lader of the National Weather Service office in Tucson. The blaze grew dramatically Friday, racing down from canyons and gobbling parched grasslands and brush.

Relentless winds have spread the 19,335-acre fire that has torched at least 40 homes and forced the evacuation of hundreds. It was 15% contained Saturday morning.

The Monument fire has spread across the Huachuca Mountains near the Mexican border.

The area is known as the "Sky Islands" region.

"These mountain 'islands,' forested ranges separated by vast expanses of desert and grassland plains, are among the most diverse ecosystems in the world," according to the Sky Island Alliance, a conservation group.

Garry Foss, who operates Oaks of the Wild West nursery in Hereford, a community just east of the fire, said grasses 2 to 3 feet tall have not seen rain since December, making for a ready fire fuel source.

Sierra Vista, home to the Army's Fort Huachuca, has had 0.13 inches of rain this year, according to Lader, compared with 2.5 to 3 inches in a normal year. There's no rain in the forecast.

"I'm trying to sit it out," Foss said, adding that he now has to drive east to Bisbee and northwest to reach Sierra Vista. "This grass is so dry."

Much of Highway 92 south of Sierra Vista was ordered closed. A brush fire was reported on Fort Huachuca.

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer, meanwhile, issued emergency declarations for the Monument fire and another blaze, Horseshoe II, making Cochise County eligible for $100,000 toward response and recovery expenses.

Source: http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/06/18/arizona.wildfires/index.html?eref=rss_us

tony horton wall street journal venom elephant man butterfly effect quinoa e coli outbreak