KINGMAN, Ariz. (AP) -- An 13,000-acre wildfire 30 miles northwest of Kingman has received considerable rain, but officials were concerned that steady winds and high temperatures in the coming days could make it harder to fight the blaze, officials said.
Even though the Twin Mills fire was considered to be threatening 50 homes in Golden Valley, the blaze was three miles away from the houses and wasn't burning toward the community, said Wendell Peacock, a spokesman for the team fighting the fire.
The fire was 50 percent contained and the acreage was reduced Sunday night from 15,600 acres because of better mapping, he said.
People living in homes scattered outside of the fire's perimeter had voluntarily evacuated the area Saturday while crews conducted burnout operations to destroy natural fuels around the structures. The residents returned home shortly after the burnout operations.
It's not known how many homes were evacuated or how close the fire was from the structures.
Rain fell on the fire Saturday and Sunday. ''We are catching a break thanks to some precipitation (Sunday) and lower temperatures and higher humidity,'' Peacock said.
Helicopters and airplanes dropped water and retardant on the fire in an effort to keep it from moving toward the south, east and west. Crews on the ground battled the fire from a safe distance.
An estimated 200 firefighters were battling the lightning-caused blaze, which began Friday night. Peacock said several crews were expected to be sent home Monday.
BARFOOT FIRE
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) -- Sparse rainfall slowed a lightning-sparked fire in the Chiricahua Mountains, though the fire was far from being contained, officials said.
The Barfoot Fire had charred nearly 1,600 acres by Sunday as the mountain range received 0.10 of an inch of rain, said Marylee Peterson, a Coronado National Forest spokeswoman.
With flames less than three-eighths of a mile away, the fire forced the evacuation of Pine Canyon United Methodist Camp. The camp's structures were not threatened, Peterson said.
The fire was about three miles from Rustler Park structures.
While the rain was limited, it was the break firefighters were looking for, Peterson said.
The blaze started July 17. It was 20 percent contained Sunday and was expected to be contained by next Saturday.
EDGE COMPLEX FIRE
PUNKIN CENTER, Ariz. (AP) -- A 71,600-acre wildfire near this central Arizona community is winding down, officials said.
Humidity, rain and calm winds were credited with helping to slow the Edge Complex fire's progress, said fire information officer Jennifer Byington.
The fire was no longer threatening any homes.
Earlier in the fire, people who were asked to evacuate about 350 houses in the Sleepy Hollow, Sycamore Creek, Mazatzal and Walnut Springs subdivisions were allowed to return.
Residents had also been allowed back into about 15 homes evacuated in the rural community of Sunflower, west of the fire. The fire came within an estimated half-mile of the homes.
The fire was 60 percent contained. Full containment was expected Monday morning.
Crews focused Sunday on protecting fire containment lines and monitoring hotspots within the blaze's boundaries.
Nine hundred firefighters were working on the fire. That number was expected to drop soon.
