Wildfires

Wildfires - USA

Gusty winds and soaring temperatures have spread wildfires in numerous states across the Southwest, forcing hundreds of residents from their homes.

The National Interagency Fire Center said Thursday that six states including Arizona, California and New Mexico are dealing with "multiple large fires," with more than 8,000 firefighters and support workers battling the blazes. The Interagency has raised the danger level, which helps mobilize additional resources.

In Central Arizona's Yavapai County, the Goodwin Fire — named for the area near where the fire started — has engulfed more than 20,000 acres of mostly scrubland known locally as chaparral. The fire is also threatening several residential communities, spurring the evacuation of at least 1,500 people.

Officials say lightning sparked the Frye Fire earlier this month. It continues to burn around 40,000 acres of rugged terrain in Arizona's Pinaleno Mountain Range. With more than 800 emergency workers battling it, the fire is at 45 percent containment.

In neighboring Utah, a massive blaze in Brian Head is burning around 60,000 acres, spurring evacuations.

And in California, multiple wildfires have also triggered dozens of evacuations and burned homes and cars.