PHOENIX - Hundreds of firefighters are battling the Greer Fire in eastern Arizona and a Red Flag Warning is anticipated with winds picking up over the weekend.
Saturday morning's incident report showed the fire's footprint at 15,985 acres, an increase of more than 3,350 acres from the previous morning, with no containment.
Friday's work focused on limiting the pace at which the fire was spreading and shoring up containment lines. High winds limited the use of aircraft for two days, but conditions calmed on Thursday and the air attack ramped up through Friday and will continue Saturday as conditions permit.
"Today we're going to see kind of a carbon copy of what we saw yesterday in terms of the weather -- a little bit lower wind speeds," Tiffany Davila, spokesperson for the incident management team, told KTAR News 92.3 FM on Friday morning. "But coming into tomorrow, we do have a forecast Fire Weather Watch ... which ultimately could turn into a Red Flag Warning."
The Greer Fire started Tuesday and spread east and northeast through inaccessible terrain toward Eagar and Springerville, fueled by dry grass, shrubs and timber.
"We were able to utilize a bunch of aircraft yesterday," Davila said Friday morning. "Large air tankers, water scoopers and at least six helicopters were working the fire for most of the day yesterday. Today, same story. We're going to try and launch as much as we can ... to get ahead of the incoming weather for tomorrow."
Davila said good progress has been made in the community of Greer, where the fire started.
However, all evacuation orders and road closures in the area remained in effect as of Saturday morning.
The situation is fluid, and more areas could be designated as "GO" or "SET" under the state's emergency alert system if conditions change.
As of Friday morning, there were two "GO" evacuation zones: one for residents in Greer, South Fork and the area west of State Route 261, and the other for the section of Eagar south of SR 260 and west of River Road.
In addition, some areas north and east of the evacuation zone are classified as "SET," meaning residents should be prepared to evacuate -- or leave voluntarily -- due to significant danger in the area.
Residents and businesses in the vicinity of the fire are being asked to conserve water to make sure firefighting and emergency services have an adequate supply.
The American Red Cross opened an emergency shelter at the Apache County Fairgrounds in St. Johns, which can house small and large animals. A second shelter with cots, blankets and food for evacuees was opened at the Alpine Community Center.
Donations to help firefighters and people displaced by the Greer Fire are being collected at the Round Valley Annex at 309 S. Mountain Ave. in Springerville. Items such as water, electrolytes, hygiene products, sealed food packages (nothing homemade), diapers and formula are needed.
The following roads in the area are closed due to the fire, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation:
About 490 personnel are assigned to battle the Greer Fire. Southwest Incident Management Team 3, a specialized emergency unit, took command of firefighting operations on Thursday.
The blaze started around 11 a.m. Tuesday on the west side of County Road 1120 in Greer.
Officials confirmed that three structures and a travel trailer have been destroyed. No injuries to the public or firefighters have been reported.
Smoke from the wildfire is impacting air quality in the White Mountains.
The cause of the Greer Fire remains under investigation.
Early reports indicated it might have been caused by an electrical transformer that was damaged by high winds. However, utility workers didn't find evidence of transformer failure that could have ignited a fire.
Stage 2 fire restrictions are in effect across eastern and southeastern Arizona.
KTAR News 92.3 FM's Colton Krolak contributed to this report.