Families flee forest blaze in Arizona

A massive blaze in eastern Arizona continued to burn out of control yesterday over large areas of bone-dry forest land.

Facing high winds and low humidity, an army of more than 2,300 firefighters battled the raging blaze that has forced the evacuation of two small mountain communities. The fire is the third largest on record in Arizona.

Weather conditions were expected to hamper firefighting efforts, with wind gusts of up to 45mph.