Arizona Wildfire

Cottonwood trees are caught in an inferno as a brushfire races north through the bosque along the east side of the Rio Grande in Albuquerque, N.M., Tuesday, June 24, 2003.

The sun shines through a cloud of smoke rising from a forest fire on Virgin Mesa in the Jemez Mountains near Jemez Springs, N.M.

Firefighters train a hose on a fire in the bosque along the east side of the Rio Grande in Albuquerque, N.M., Tuesday, June 24, 2003.

Cottonwood trees erupt in flames as fire races north through a wooded area along the Rio Grande in Albuquerque, N.M., Tuesday, June 24, 2003. The fire forced the evacuation of more than 600 people and prompted Lt. Gov. Diane Denish to declare a state of emergency.

From left are Randy Otero, Rudy Herman, and Louise Archibeque. The firefighters train a hose on a fire along the east side of the Rio Grande in Albuquerque, N.M., Tuesday, June 24, 2003.

Several spot fires from the Aspen fire move up the north side of the Catalina Mountains in Tucson, Ariz., Tuesday June 24, 2003. The Aspen fire, which has already burned more than 250 homes in the vacation community of Summerhaven, continued to make runs at a firebreak carved out on its southeast flanks and had the potential to come around it, said fire commander Larry Humphrey.

A wildfire continues to rage on top of Mount Lemmon near Tucson, Ariz., Sunday, June 22, 2003. The uncontrolled wildfire that destroyed more than 250 homes in this mountaintop community moved on a course Sunday that would take it into an area where terrain and lighter vegetation will make it easier to fight, fire officials said.

Mount Lemmon Fire Department firefighters Samantha Hulland, facing camera, hugs her husband Steve Hulland Jr., Friday, June 20, 2003, at the Alder Picnic Area outside Summerhaven, Ariz., after talking about how they saw their former Summerhaven business Cabins & Cookies, which they sold just four months ago, burned to the ground Thursday afternoon as the Aspen Fire raged through the mountaintop town.

A charred bicycle is seen after the Aspen fire swept through the Alpine Lodge on Sabino Canyon Parkway in Summerhaven, Ariz., on Saturday, June 21, 2003. The lodge was destroyed by the fire.

Lydell Bell, of the Pima 1 firefighters, takes a snapshot of other firefighters in Summerhaven, Ariz., Sunday, June 22, 2003. The uncontrolled wildfire that destroyed more than 250 homes in this mountaintop community moved on a course Sunday that would take it into an area where terrain and lighter vegetation will make it easier to fight, fire officials said.

A horse on MacDonald's Ranch at the base of the Arizona Snowbowl is silhouetted against a smoke-enhanced sunset in Flagstaff, Ariz., Tuesday, June 17, 2003. Smoke from the Lizard Fire, burning 11 miles southeast of Flagstaff, drifted into town throughout the afternoon.

An aerial view of the Aspen fire buring in the Santa Catalina Mountains is seen from a plane over Tucson, Ariz., Thursday, June 19, 2003. The Mount Lemmon Observatory is visible to the left.

Members of the Flagstaff Hotshots look on as the Aspen Fire crests the ridge west of the Summerhaven community Thursday, June 19, 2003, in Tucson, Ariz.

Metal chairs and tables are all that's left of the business called Cabins & Cookies in the Summerhaven community after the Aspen Fire swept through the mountain town near Tucson, Ariz. A wildfire driven by winds reaching up to 60 mph roared through a southern Arizona vacation hamlet Thursday.

A home burns as a wildfire moves through Summerhaven, a community on Mount Lemmon near Tucson, Ariz., Thursday, June 19, 2003.

Fire crews prepare on the Catalina Highway leading to the community of Summerhaven as heavy smoke from a wildfire lingers Thursday, June 19, 2003, near Tucson, Ariz. A wildfire driven by winds of up to 60 mph roared through the mountain community of Summerhaven, burning 200 to 250 homes, a fire official said.

Crews from Corona de Tucson and Three Points Fire Department throw loose debris into a wildfire as the fire moves toward a home in the Summerhaven suburb of Tucson, Ariz., Thursday, June 19, 2003.

Crews from Corona de Tucson and Three Points Fire Department attempt to put out a large fire in a pile of firewood behind a home on Sabino Canyon Road in an effort to save the home, as the Aspen Fire swept through the area Thursday, June 19, 2003, near Tucson, Ariz.

Smoke billows from the Aspen fire atop Mount Lemmon on Thursday, June 19, 2003, as seen from Oro Valley, Ariz. A wildfire driven by winds reaching up to 60 mph roared through Summerhaven, a southern Arizona vacation hamlet high on Mount Lemmon, on Thursday, burning between 200 and 250 homes, a fire official said.

A slurry plane, one of three, battles the Aspen Fire on Mount Lemmon, Ariz., as fire management teams waited for hot shot teams to arrive Wednesday, June 18, 2003.