Arizona fire imperils ancient Indian ruins
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A helicopter douses flames from a wildfire burning near Whiteriver, Arizona, Tuesday.
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(CNN) -- A wildfire on an Indian reservation at Whiteriver, Arizona, has forced the evacuation of more than 3,000 people and prompted the governor to declare a state of emergency for two counties.
By Wednesday morning, the Kinishba fire had scorched an estimated 12,600 acres of wildland, firefighters reported. The fire was threatening the nearby Kinishba ruins, an Anasazi Indian settlement believed to have been abandoned in the 14th century, Assistant Fire Chief Mark Teessay said.
Whiteriver, about 150 miles east of Phoenix, is the administrative center of the Fort Apache Indian Reservation.
"It's moving north-northeast, and yesterday it just made a push to the west and southwest," Teessay said. About 700 homes on Whiteriver's west side and nearby subdivisions are threatened, but a burned-out area from an earlier wildfire is serving as a buffer between those homes and the new blaze, he said.
The Kinishba fire was sparked by lightning Sunday. About 1,000 firefighters are battling the blaze, which was about 10 percent contained Wednesday morning, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.
Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano declared a state of emergency for Gila and Navajo counties Tuesday. About 50 Arizona National Guard troops have been assigned to help local authorities maintain roadblocks in evacuated areas, and Napolitano directed $200,000 in state funds toward firefighting expenses, her office said.
Authorities reported eight active wildfires of more than 100 acres Wednesday.
