PHOENIX, July 9 (UPI) -- After burning more than 538,000 acres, the Wallow fire in Arizona and New Mexico is now 100 percent contained, officials said.
The wildfire burned about 15,000 acres in New Mexico and officials from the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests said the fire was contained as of 6 p.m. Friday, KSAZ-TV, Phoenix, reported.
The Wallow fire destroyed 32 residences, 36 outbuildings and four commercial buildings.
The Arizona Daily Star said the Wallow fire forced the evacuation of thousands of residents in several small communities in eastern Arizona. The human-caused fire started May 29 and has cost about $110 million to fight.
Officials said a campfire left unattended sparked the fire.
The cost to fight the fire strapped government agencies already short of money and manpower, The Arizona Republic said.
"We did have to allocate a significant amount of manpower to [the fires]," said Bart Graves, a spokesman for the Arizona Department of Public Safety. "We're already short-handed throughout the state, so anytime we have to take patrol officers away from the road, it strains our resources."
