Firefighter charged with starting Arizona blaze

A man was charged yesterday with starting one of two wildfires that merged to become the largest in Arizona's history, destroying more than 400 homes.

Leonard Gregg, 29, was making an initial appearance at a federal court in Flagstaff. A magistrate, Stephen Verkamp, told him: "You're being charged with intentionally setting fire to timber, underbrush or grass." Mr Gregg, a resident of the Fort Apache Indian Reservation, is a part-time worker for the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The Arizona Republic newspaper reported that he was a firefighter.

The fire he is accused of starting broke out on 18 June just north of the reservation town of Cibecue. It raced up steep terrain, threatened the town of Show Low and overran two towns to the west. Then it merged with a smaller fire that had been accidentally started by a hiker signalling for help.

The blaze has burnt 452,000 acres (180,800ha) in the mountains of eastern Arizona, destroyed at least 423 homes and forced 30,000 people to evacuate nine communities. Yesterday, the flames were still raging out of control on the fire's western edge.

In Show Low, residents were back in their homes for the first time since 22 June. About 25,000 were allowed to returnafter firefighters stopped the blaze half a mile from the town's edge.