Crews try to protect more homes from raging Southwest fires

By FELICIA FONSECA and SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN
Associated Press

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — Destructive Southwest fires have burned dozens of homes in northern Arizona and put small New Mexico villages in the path of flames. Authorities say ferocious winds were fueling the New Mexico fire on Friday, with wide swaths of tinder dry forest and grassland in the path of the flames. In Arizona, a reprieve in the weather Thursday enabled officials to enter the evacuated area near Flagstaff to assess damage. The reprieve also allowed firefighters to attack flames from the air. But gusts were forecast to batter parts of Arizona and all of New Mexico through the weekend. Firefighters are battling a half-dozen wildfires in the Southwest.