/ Modified jun 8, 2021 11:08 p.m.

Rural Arizona residents wait as wildfire spreads uncontained

The so-called Telegraph Fire, straddling two counties, has burned 112 square miles and was at zero containment Tuesday

Prescribed burn The Bureau of Land Management used prescribed burns across many of its properties for habitat improvement and to reduce the risk of severe wildfires.
Courtesy BLM

Firefighters in Arizona are fighting to gain a foothold into a massive wildfire, one of two that has forced thousands of evacuations in rural towns and closed almost every major highway out of the area.

The so-called Telegraph Fire, straddling two counties, has burned 112 square miles and was at zero containment Tuesday.

The blaze was first reported Friday south of Superior in Pinal County, about 60 miles east of Phoenix.

Residents in neighboring Gila County, which includes Globe, Miami and smaller communities, have been in various stages of the evacuation process.

Residents say it has been surreal watching red-orange glows from flames and towering plumes of smoke.

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