PHOENIX - The biggest forest fire in Arizona history is all butcontained, and authorities are shifting their focus to preventingmassive flood damage as summer storms begin to hit.
The specialized firefighting management teams that had battledthe blaze in eastern Arizona's Apache-Sitgreaves National Forestpulled out Tuesday. Patrolling the completed fire lines andcorralling the last 5 percent is now up to local forest officialsand the White Mountain Apache Tribe.
Officials say rains will be the next disaster to avert, since asubstantial part of the fire area suffered severe soil damage. Theysay the worst runoff will happen where the fire burned the hottestand prevented the soil from absorbing rainfall.
Two other major fires that burned in recent weeks will raise thesame concerns.
Apache County engineer Ferrin Crosby says a small thunderstormMonday night quickly turned the Little Colorado River into a ragingtorrent. Such a storm normally wouldn't affect flows.
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