Crews used controlled backfires early Sunday to blunt the advance of a major wildfire near mountain communities in eastern Arizona, a blaze termed "absolutely frightening" by the state's governor that has already burned through 225 square miles of forest and brush.

Fire officials still have zero containment of the Wallow Fire near the New Mexico-Arizona state line, which has forced an unknown number of people to evacuate from several small towns.



The 144,000-acre fire, the third largest in state history, has sent smoke well into New Mexico and parts of southern Colorado.

"It was unbelievable — the expansion of the smoke," Gov. Jan Brewer said Saturday after an aerial tour of the blaze and a briefing from fire team's commander in Springerville.

"It was horrific and of the likes of a fire of which I have never experienced from the air," she told reporters. "We hope that we get more encouraging news in the morning."

Brad Pitassi, spokesman for the area fire management team, said fire teams around the evacuated town of Alpine, along highway 191 and 180, were using the backfires to rob the advancing blaze of fuel.

"It's like fighting fire with fire," he told The Associated Press.

Fire managers said in a statement early Sunday that 160 firefighters were working through the night in the operation.

Pitassi said 1,300 firefighters are on the scene, including some from other states.

"We're tapping into resources across the nation, from Oregon all the way to New York," he said.

Crews have struggled to protect property and just four summer rental cabins have burned since it started May 29, the U.S. Forest Service said. There have been no serious injuries.

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