Wildfires blaze in Arizona, New Mexico as Biden promises federal relief

Just as President Joe Biden was stepping in to provide support to New Mexico with its largest wildfire ever, a new wildfire popped up in Arizona. According to the National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG), the Pipeline Fire was reported Sunday morning six miles north of Flagstaff. By Sunday night, the fire had burned 4,000-5,000 acres.

“The investigation into the cause of the Pipeline Fire is ongoing and, in order to protect the integrity of the investigation, we cannot discuss any details of the investigation,” U.S. Forest Service Patrol Captain Andy Pederson said, according to the NWCG. The group added “a 57-year-old male was arrested by Forest Service law enforcement officers… in connection with the wildfire and charged with natural resource violations.”

As of Sunday night, no homes or other buildings had been destroyed by the Pipeline Fire. Coconino County Emergency Management was handling information regarding evacuations.

“Another fire has been reported, known as the Haywire Fire, northeast of the Pipeline Fire,” Coconino County tweet Monday morning. “The fire has burned 1,600 acres and was first reported at 5:30 a.m. this morning.”

This isn’t the first wildfire the Flagstaff area has had to deal with this year. According to the NWCG, the Tunnel Fire, which ignited back in April, was fully contained earlier this month.

As the Pipeline and Haywire wildfires burn in Arizona, so does the Hermits Peak Fire in New Mexico. It began in early April as a result of prescribed burns set by the Forest Service.

The Hermits Peak Fire eventually combined with the Calf Canyon Fire. Last month, the combined fire became the largest in state history.

On Saturday, President Biden visited an emergency operations center in Santa Fe on the way back from his West Coast visit for the Summit of the Americas. In New Mexico, Biden promised the federal government would cover the full cost of the emergency response to and debris removal of the fire. That financial responsibility had been shared between the state and federal governments.

“That is going to be a strong bridge until we pass the Hermit’s Peak Fire Assistance Act to fully compensate survivors for their total loss,” Biden said. “We’re also providing funding and loans for small businesses, farmers and ranchers. And we need to be sure this doesn’t happen again.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.