LOS ANGELES, June 8 (Xinhua) -- A wild fire in the U.S. state of Arizona scorched an area of 7,225 acres (29.24 square kilometers) as of Saturday noon, the authorities said.
According to a press release of InciWeb, an interstate incident information system, the fire dubbed Mountain Fire was initially reported before noon local time Friday near Bartlett Lake, 90 kilometer northeast of Phoenix, capital of the state.
"The fire is completely on the Tonto National Forest, burning east and northeast toward Horseshoe and Bartlett Lake," the press release said, adding roads in the area had been shut down and evacuation order had been issued for residents and hikers.
Brad Widhalm with Tonto National Forest was quoted by the local NBC 5 news channel as saying that wind was so strong that fire crew had little lines to halt the fire's spread. He expected the wind would calm once the sun sets.
A total of 243 firefighters were involved on the scene, and there was no report of casualty.
