Wildfires burn 1.4M acres in 12 states

(CNN) -- As a legion of firefighters battle the stubborn Wallow Fire in east central Arizona and west central New Mexico, colleagues in 10 other U.S. states also have their hands full with dozens more wildfires.

The Wallow fire is just one of 53 large uncontained wildfires burning in the United States, from Alaska to Florida, according to the National Interagency Coordination Center. All told, the fires have burned 2,166 square miles or 1.4 million acres -- nearly the size of Delaware.

About 10,400 firefighters are involved in efforts to contain the fires, with more than 7,000 of them in Arizona and New Mexico, where fires have burned 853,518 acres, according to the center.

The largest of the fires continues to be the Wallow Fire, which has burned 527,774 acres so far, the fire's incident command team announced Tuesday, and is about 58% contained.

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While residents in Greer, Arizona, are being allowed to return home, evacuation orders remain in effect in other parts of Arizona and in Luna, New Mexico. Residents in parts of Apache County, Arizona, also have been told to be prepared to evacuate should the need arise.

Power has been fully restored in Alpine and Nutrioso, Arizona, but remains out in areas north of Blue River, fire officials said.

In Texas, a fast-moving fire near Grimes County destroyed at least 26 homes as it burned across more than 4,000 acres.

The fire was caused by homeowners grilling near Stoneham, Texas, CNN affiliate KHOU-TV reported.

Grimes County Sheriff Don Sowell said officials have identified a person of interest who is believed to have built the barbecue pit that started the fire, but as of now authorities do not believe there was any intent of arson.

The speed of the fire forced evacuations of whole subdivisions throughout the area.

Jerome Seeberger, who owns 40 acres of land in Grimes County, said there's just one word to describe the scene.

"Apocalypse," he told KHOU as he stood in front of a backdrop of charred trees. "I've never seen anything like this. Such a beautiful forest two days ago and now look at it."

In North Carolina, Forest Service officials said they are closely monitoring a fire in Pender County, which has burned more than 4,000 acres.

Though evacuations have not been ordered, residents of Pender County said they are worried. Diane Kuzina's voice broke as she described the fire's path. Kuzina owns land near the Pender County line.

"I don't want to lose my home," she said. "It's just scary."

The number of wildfires so far this year is below the 10-year average for the United States, according to the U.S. Forest Service. But the number of acres burned is three times that 10-year average, according to the agency.

While some state and local authorities have reported stretched resources from the widespread fires, Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell told Congress last week that there's plenty of capacity to continue fighting fires.

The U.S. Forest Service and the Department of the Interior have about 16,000 trained firefighters available nationwide, Tidwell said.

The agency also has leftover funds from previous years to pay higher-than-usual firefighting costs.

CNN's Craig Bell contributed to this report.

CNN

Army Corps blows up levee to flood 130,000 acres in Missouri

(CNN) -- With a series of blasts that briefly illuminated the night sky like lightning, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began blowing up a Mississippi River levee overnight, flooding about 200 square miles of rich farmland in an effort to bring down historic river levels and spare the city of Cairo, Illinois and other communities.

The controversial decision to breach the Birds Point-New Madrid levee appeared to be working, said Col. Vernie Reichling, commander of the Corps' Memphis district.

The Ohio River at Cairo peaked at 61.72 feet just before the blast late Monday -- the highest level on record, according to the National Weather Service. By 6 a.m. Tuesday, it had fallen to 60.62 feet, according to river gauge readings provided by the Corps. Even that still exceeds the previous record of 59.5 feet set in 1937, according to Weather Service records.

The breach could cause river levels to fall by three to four feet over the next few days, according to Maj. Gen. Michael Walsh, commander of the Corps' Mississippi River Valley Division.

Without an intentional breach, authorities had warned of massive flooding that could wipe out the city of Cairo, which sits at the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. Cairo's mayor had already ordered the city's 2,800 residents to evacuate.

Missouri officials took the Corps to court over the plan, questioning the agency's authority to intentionally breach the levee. The state argued the flood waters would deposit silt on the some 130,000 acres of farmland that Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon described as "literally the most productive part of our continent."

The silt, he said, would take years to clear, causing long-lasting damage.

The U.S. Supreme Court declined to intervene in the case on Sunday, clearing the way for Walsh's decision to blow the levee.

Nixon estimated it will take tens, if not hundreds of millions of dollars to recover from the intentional flooding.

Walsh said the fate of Cairo was just one of many factors in his decision, saying he hoped the move would alleviate issues throughout the Mississippi River system. Water levels and flooding have hit record highs in many spots, putting severe strains on systems meant to prevent uncontrolled floods and the resulting loss of life and property.

"Nobody has seen this type of water in the system," he said. "This is unprecedented."

He called the decision to inundate the farmland and about 100 homes "heart-wrenching."

"I've been involved with flooding for 10 years and it takes a long time to recover from something like this," he said.

The initial series of blasts happened late Monday. Engineers then set the second charges overnight and planned to detonate them early Tuesday. A third series of detonations will follow, according to the Corps.

The governors of Illinois and Missouri said authorities in both states are prepared for the blast and subsequent flooding, according to prepared statements.

"I urge Missourians to continue to cooperate fully with state, county and local law enforcement, as they have at every stage of this process," Nixon said. "Together, we will ensure that Missouri families stay safe in the coming days. And together, we will recover and rebuild."

A statement released by Quinn's office called the decision to breach the levee "an important step to ensure public safety as we respond to this crisis."

Even as the river was falling, Walsh did not rule out similar moves elsewhere along the Mississippi and its tributaries, saying the levee system is already under unprecedented pressure and warning water levels could rise again.

"This doesn't end this historic flood," he said.

CNN

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