The last of the 30,000 evacuees forced from their houses by the Arizona
forest fires have returned home, after officials announced that 80% of the
largest blaze had now been contained.
A fire line is expected to be drawn around the Rodeo-Chediski blaze by
Sunday 7 July, when it will be considered fully under control.
The fire blackened 468,000 acres (187,200
hectares) of pine forest, an area twice the size of New York City.
Residents at an evacuation centre in the nearby town of Payson cheered as
fire information officers announced that the evacuation order had been lifted
for residents of Heber-Overgaard and Forest Lakes.
As the evacuees made their way home along a highway lined with blackened
trees, they passed spray-painted signs saying "Welcome home neighbors"
and "Thank you firefighters".
But the homes they returned to were often little more than piles of wreckage.
Charred pine trees stood around burnt-out cars and remains of buildings.
Preliminary estimates show that 423
structures in the area have been destroyed, mostly homes, according to fire
information officer Dave Killebrew.
Residents of the town of Forest Lakes were luckier. Fire crews had managed to
rebuff the fire before it could do major damage to homes in the settlement.
"So relieved," said Forest Lakes resident Barbara Purtyman, as she
looked around her front yard. "Very, very lucky."
Accused
Meanwhile two firefighters appeared in separate courts on Wednesday, accused
of starting two of the largest fires to hit the US this year.
In Flagstaff, Arizona, contract firefighter Leonard Gregg pleaded innocent to
starting the Rodeo fire.
Prosecutors allege that Mr Gregg, a
29-year-old member of the Apache tribe, started two fires on the White Mountain
Apache reservation on 18 June to ensure work for the summer.
The Rodeo fire wiped out hundreds of millions of dollars worth of timber that
the tribe relies on for its income.
In neighbouring Colorado, Forestry Service firefighter Terry Lynn Barton, who
was charged on 16 June with starting the Hayman fire near Denver, had her trial
put back from its original August date to give the defence more time to prepare.
She has also pleaded not guilty to the charges against her.