A fast-moving wildfire in rural northern Arizona ballooned to over 3 square miles Tuesday as winds whipped the flames, shut down a major highway and grounded aircraft that could drop water and fire retardant.
About a couple hundred homes along U.S. 89, north of Flagstaff, were being evacuated, said Coconino County sheriff's spokesman Jon Paxton. Firefighters contended with gusts of up to 50 mph (80 kph) that pushed the wildfire over the highway, authorities said.
