KEARNY, Ariz. — Most residents were allowed to return home on Thursday after a smoky brush fire tore through three homes and forced the evacuation of hundreds of people in a rural Arizona community.
Officials report the 1,100-acre fire is 25 percent contained.
Todd Abel with the Arizona State Forestry Division said crews have made significant progress securing a containment line along the northern edge of the fire.
“Last night they were very successful on both sides of the river they were able to take fire along road systems and railroad tracks and bring it up to that indirect line and secure that," Abel said.
The wildfire began Wednesday in the dry Gila River bed near Kearny, about 85 miles southeast of Phoenix, It had grown to nearly 2 square miles while chewing through salt cedar trees.
It was partially contained Thursday and burning away from the town of about 2,000 people.
Crews were planning back-burn operations overnight in an attempt to stop the blaze and keep it from reaching a small mobile home park.
"We're kind of at the mercy of what the winds are going to do," said Mark Clark, a spokesman for the Pinal County Sheriff's Office.
A handful of residents of a trailer park close to the riverbed had to stay away because the fire was still burning near their homes, Arizona State Forestry spokesman Mike Reichling said.
Some firefighters suffered problems due to the triple-digit temperatures but no serious injuries were reported.
The cause of the fire remained under investigation.
The blaze has been mostly relegated to the riverbed, with about 200 firefighters keeping it away from the Kearny.
The fire was initially fanned by wind gusts up to 15 mph and doubled in size almost every hour while threatening at least 25 structures. It reportedly burned to within 40 yards of some homes.
About half of those forced from their homes were residents of a trailer park that was evacuated in July 2013 when lightning sparked a 500-acre fire in the same riverbed.
State Sen. Barbara McGuire, D-Kearny, said the fire looked like an erupting volcano.
KJZZ's Carrie Jung contributed to this report.