US President Mr George W. Bush was today expected to declare a huge tract of fire-charred Arizona a federal disaster area, as a wildfire engulfed more than 300,000 acres and driving 25,000 people from their homes.
The wildfire bore down on the town of Show Low in the western state of Arizona after two blazes merged yesterday into a giant fireball.
Fierce flames were creeping into the remote mountain town, which was abandoned by its 8,000 residents late Saturday, but a shift in the fire's pattern eased its intensity, saving the town from immediate destruction.
Two huge wildfires burning since last Tuesday joined earlier yesterday to form one mega-fire that has so far scorched 386,000 acres - or 1,560 square km - of land.
Desperate efforts had been underway by around 2,000 firefighters, backed up by tanker aircraft and helicopters, to prevent the two fires from joining up.
The fires, with flames leaping 150 meters (and igniting huge fireballs, have destroyed 115 homes and sparked the evacuation of six towns, forcing 25,000 people from their homes.
Officials said the blaze, fuelled by bone-dry vegetation, high temperatures and winds, was the worst in the history of the forest fire-prone region. There are fears that the fire could spread through region covered by the largest Ponderosa pine forests in the US.
A giant fire that had earlier threatened the city of Denver in the nearby state of Colorado had meanwhile eased and was nearly 70 per cent contained, officials said.
That fire, which started two weeks ago, has blackened 137,000 acres, 114 homes and about 420 other buildings. A US Forest Service ranger responsible for preventing forest fires is behind bars after being charged with starting the Colorado blaze and lying about it to her superiors.
AFP