Homes Spared in Arizona Brush Fire

Wind that had been driving a desert brush fire eased Saturday, allowing evacuees to return to luxury homes that had been threatened by the flames.

The fire got no closer than a few feet from any of the million-dollar homes, said Steve Springborn, a spokesman for the privately operated Rural-Metro Fire Department.

The fire, which was raining white ash on areas as far as 10 miles away, burned across about 8,000 acres. Areas still burning Saturday were mostly unpopulated, authorities said.

More than 450 firefighters battled the flames, aided by four air tankers. Containment was not expected until at least Tuesday night.

Officials said no serious injuries had been reported, but some firefighters and residents were transported to first-aid stations and Scottsdale Memorial Hospital when they were overcome by heat from roaring flames that added to the 113-degree desert temperature.

Lightning was believed to have started the fire Friday in the McDowell Mountains, and winds of up to 40 m.p.h. drove the flames down onto the desert in the northern part of this city.

At one point, crackling walls of fire as high as 40 feet and two to three miles long raced across the dry brush dangerously close to residences.

“The fire was burning faster than you could run,” said Colin Williams, a Rural-Metro Fire Department spokesman.

Residents of 300 homes, mostly clustered around the Troon Golf and Country Club, were evacuated late Friday but allowed to return before noon Saturday.