HANNAGAN MEADOW, Ariz. (AP) -- A 10,000-acre wildfire burning in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest threatened three structures Thursday, authorities said.
An Arizona Department of Transportation maintenance yard building, a campground and a U.S. Forest Service administrative building were threatened because firefighters had to conduct burnout operations nearby, said Bob Dyson, a fire spokesman for the U.S. Forest Service.
Officials closed the structures, which were between 100 and several hundred feet southwest of the fire, but they were not in imminent danger, Dyson said.
About 515 firefighters worked Thursday to burn out the southwestern and southern flanks of the fire, which was 25 percent contained.
The fire is located about three miles south of Hannagan Meadow in the Blue Range Primitive Area. The acreage was reduced late Wednesday from an estimated 10,500 acres after crews were better able to map the area.
A 36-mile stretch of Highway 191 was expected to remain closed throughout the weekend, Dyson said.
The KP fire is under investigation, but authorities believe it was caused by an abandoned campfire.
Dyson said investigators haven't been able to get back to the spot they suspect it started because of hotspots and falling trees.
``We've had some strong winds that have just dropped hundreds and hundreds of trees in there,'' he said.
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