Firefighters lost more ground overnight to the Telegraph Fire burning near Globe, with containment dropping to 59%, authorities said Wednesday.
Wildfire officials said the fire, the sixth-largest in Arizona history, had grown to 148,299 acres. Tuesday evening’s report showed 139,615 acres burned; a morning report showed 68% containment.
More than 1,000 personnel were assigned to the blaze.
Crews have had little help from the hot, dry weather, officials said.
“Right now it’s too dangerous, too active to send any of our damage-assessment folks,” Pinal County Emergency Management Director Chuck Kmet said in a briefing Tuesday night.
The fire has roared through timber, grass, chaparral, brush and 22 structures since igniting south of Superior on June 4.