Thousands flee Arizona fire

Firefighters still fear two blazes will join up

Smoke and flames consume a house near Show Low, Arizona, in the raging Rodeo wildfire.

SHOW LOW, Arizona (CNN) -- The 130,000-acre Rodeo wildfire forced about 7,700 residents of the eastern Arizona town of Show Low to evacuate their homes Saturday.

And just a few miles away, the Chediski fire ("Ched-ih-SKY") grew to more than 20,000 acres and inched closer to a merger with Rodeo.

That combination of flames, analysts say, could lead to a 300,000-acre inferno.

"If that happens, we'll have a 20- to 25-mile front," said fire information officer Jim Paxon. "That is daunting because it's just that much bigger to burn forward."

CNN NewsPass Video    •  California wildfire breaks fire line  MORE STORIES   •  Wildfire spreads in California; holiday campers safe   •  Experts disagree on forest management   •  Bush unveils 'Healthy Forests' plan  EXTRA INFORMATION   •  Wildfires through history   •  Interactive: The science of a wildfire   •  TIME.com Photo Essay: Colorado wildfires  RESOURCES   •  Related site: National Interagency Fire Center

Rodeo already has a nine-mile-wide fire line, building a dramatic wall of fire west of Show Low that only barely diminished during the cooler nighttime hours. No injuries have been reported from the blaze.

Show Low is one of several towns on standby for evacuation -- some 15,000 to 20,000 people may be told to get out if the fire hops the canyons on either side of Rodeo's steady burn to the northeast.

Eight thousand people have already been evacuated from the paths of the Rodeo and Chediski fires.

Chediski blaze started by hiker

Rodeo has roared through at least one town since it began Wednesday. Paxon said Pinedale lost at least 15 homes and 20 other structures, but firefighters were able to save 85 to 90 homes.

"Fire went through there raging," Paxon said. "It was running a mile-and-a-half-an-hour through the ponderosa pine."

Investigators were still assessing the damage in the town, he said, and the American Red Cross will assist those who lost their homes.

"There's so much fire in there we can't let them back in yet," Paxon said. "It's not safe."

Arizona Gov. Jane Dee Hull has called the Rodeo fire Arizona's worst ever, fueled by dry Ponderosa pine and brush, 40-mph winds and temperatures in the 90s.

And no rain is on the horizon.

Firefighters Rodney Hardy, left, and Tasha Kenney, of the Apache-Sitgreaves Springerville Ranger District, watch as the Rodeo fire burns at Linden, Arizona.

"If it started raining tomorrow, we'd be out of here in a few days," said fire team commander Larry Humphrey.

"But that's not going to happen. There's no rain in the forecast for at least two weeks."

Officials had no word on what caused the blaze. Investigators have sealed off the scene of origin.

They said the Chediski blaze was started by a lost hiker who was trying to catch the attention of a helicopter flying overhead.