Wildfires forcing evacuations in Flagstaff area

The larger Pipeline Fire was reported at 10:15 a.m. Sunday approximately 6 miles north of Flagstaff by a fire lookout, said Coconino National Forest officials.

By Monday afternoon high winds had pushed the fire through about 5,000 acres of pine, grass and brush, according to fire officials. It was burning toward the northeast.

Forest Service law enforcement arrested and charged a 57-year-old man with natural resource violations, they said, without providing further details. The man was booked into the Coconino County jail.

No structures or homes have been destroyed. The fire was 0% contained as of Monday.

Firefighters were working to suppress and keep fire from entering areas near communities, while deflecting the fire along the San Francisco Peaks toward the northeast as it enters some of the 2010 Schultz Fire and recent Tunnel Fire burn scars.

Resources battling the fire Sunday from the air included up to eight air tankers and five helicopters. Currently, 13 engines, nine crews, six prevention patrol units, three dozers and one water tender are assigned, which comprises approximately 270 personnel.

More air tankers and helicopters were on order for Monday’s suppression efforts, and more firefighting resources and personnel will be added to the fight

The Arizona Snowbowl and people living in the west Schultz Pass Road were told to evacuate, officials said.

Crews were also battling another fire in the area north of Flagstaff near Sunset Crater National Monument on Monday, U.S. Forest Service officials said. The Haywire Fire started Sunday about 8 miles northeast of Doney Park had burned about 1,600 acres and was expected to merge with the Double Fire, a smaller blaze that started about 2 miles south it, officials said.

County sheriff’s officials said residents of Alpine Ranchos were being evacuated as a precaution and deputies were going door-to-door to notify them because of the fire.

They said an evacuation shelter has been set up at the Sinagua Middle School in Flagstaff.

The Coconino National Forest has issued a temporary closure of U.S. Forest Service lands, roads and trails in the area affected by the fires. The closure covers most of the forest north of Interstate 40.

Euelda King and her family evacuated their home for the second time this year because of wildfires. She hadn’t settled back in from a springtime blaze before leaving again Sunday, this time able to grab photographs and clothing she didn’t get earlier.

“Here we go again,” she said.

The family of 11 is planning to stay at the Navajo Nation casino, which is offering assistance to tribal members who evacuated.

The family was waiting in a parking lot ahead of road closure signs, watching smoke billow through the air and aircraft flying overhead.

“The winds are high, and I think they’re going to have a little bit of a battle with it,” King said.

The Arizona Department of Transportation has closed U.S. Route 89. The department said in a Twitter post that there is no estimated time to reopen the road.