Firefighters battle to contain US wildfire

FIREFIGHTERS armed with shovels and backed up by slurry bombers fought a pitched battle with a wildfire that leapt across treetops and threatened surviving homes in this mountain community yesterday.

The blaze has so far charred 11,400 acres on Mount Lemmon north of Tucson and more than 250 homes have been destroyed. The blaze was only 5% contained yesterday.

On Sunday, the wildfire was surging into a wilderness area down the north slope of the mountain, and a youth camp and two ranches downhill were evacuated as a precaution. Firefighters said lighter vegetation at lower elevations eventually will help them get a handle on the blaze. Even so, they expect it to take a few weeks to completely contain it.

Around Summerhaven, crews using hand torches, which drip flame to start backfires, and aided by air tankers succeeded on Sunday in keeping the fire away from dozens of surviving homes and an observatory. The desperate defence came one day after fire officials said they'd begun to take the offensive against the Aspen fire.

The fire, fuelled by pine forest ravaged by years of drought and beetle infestation, roared through Summerhaven on Thursday.

The cause of the fire, which began last Tuesday, remained under investigation.