Show Low (Arizona), June 24: Flames roared unchecked toward this mountain town today after overrunning another community in the dry, forested highlands of eastern Arizona. At least 82 homes were destroyed as two huge wildfires burned across more than 386,000 acres and chased as many as 25,000 people from towns in their way. By this morning, the two blazes were just over 1.6 km apart, and firefighters expected them to merge by evening into a 80-km-long line of flame.
Directly in wildfires' path was show low, a town of 7,700 people and base camp for hundreds of firefighters.
"The fire is going to move through show low," fire spokesman Jim Paxon announced this morning.

Show low's residents were ordered out late yesterday after the flames jumped a fire line crews had been building about eight miles west of town, and the 3,500 residents of neighboring Pinetop-lakeside followed early today.
“ Firefighters expected the fire to reach the westernmost neighborhoods of show low by early afternoon,” Paxon said. In Linden, a small town just west of show low that was already evacuated, firefighters sprayed foam and wrapped houses in fireproof material as flames pushed through.

Bureau Report