ROOSEVELT LAKE, Ariz. -- The massive "Lone" fire in the Four Peaks wilderness continued to blaze out of control yesterday as high afternoon winds doused some hopeful signs that it could be partially contained earlier in the day.
Enormous plumes of smoke along the north side of the fire, which could be seen for miles along Arizona Route 188, began building shortly after 1 p.m. in the afternoon heat and was fanned by winds.
The fire, which was named for the Lone Pine Saddle Trailhead area where it began, had scorched 42,100 acres by early yesterday. More than 100 additional firefighters were brought into the fray to try to control the state's largest fire in 25 years, bringing the total number of firefighters to 695.
Those firefighters experienced problems in all four corners of the fire, said Forest Service spokeswoman Virginia Gibbons.
The blaze had burned to within a mile of Apache Lake to the south, about 30 miles east of Phoenix, and was threatening to cross a major fire line, Forest Service Road 143, to the north.
"When it's wind-driven, it's just rippin'," said Pruett Small, battalion chief of the Central Yavapai Fire District. "We'll get one area secure, and the next day the winds will change and it's picking it up again."
Firefighters are also contending with steep canyons, not to mention hot and dry conditions. So far, there have been no serious injuries.
Jim Clawson, a law officer with the Prescott National Forest, said officials have not yet identified the cause of the fire.
Forest Service officials began prohibiting wood cutting yesterday in the Tonto National Forest. Smoking and open flames already have been banned, except in designated camping areas.
Pub Date: 5/02/96
