Schultz fire 20 percent contained

SANTE FE, Ariz., June 23 (UPI) -- The Schultz Pass wildfire, which has blackened 14,000 acres northeast of Flagstaff, Ariz., was 20 percent contained Tuesday, officials said.

While air tankers and helicopters attacked the blaze with bursts of water, more than 800 firefighters worked the fire on the ground to get the blaze under control, the Arizona Daily Sun reported.

Schultz Fire Commander Dugger Hughes said the eastern side of the fire was considered fairly well secured, the newspaper said.

Sheriff Bill Bribil said overnight weather would determine whether the residents of about 1,000 area homes would be allowed back into their homes as early as Wednesday morning, the newspaper said.

The fire started Sunday near an abandoned campfire but officials had yet to pinpoint its cause.

Northern Arizona University's Naz Today TV news program reported Flagstaff fire officials said the Hardy Fire was 80 percent contained by mid-afternoon Tuesday. Mop-up efforts were expected to take several days.

President Barack Obama called Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer Tuesday to talk about the wildfire situation in her state. The White House issued a release saying the president had directed the U.S. Forest Service and Federal Emergency Management Agency to stay in close contact with state and local emergency management officials and continue to monitor the fire activity.

Brewer's requests for fire management assistance grants for the Hardy Schultz Pass fires have been approved, the White House said.

Obama praised the efforts of the local and state emergency management officials to fight and contain the fires, mobilize resources, carry out evacuations and coordinate shelters.