‘This is not typical’: Arizona wildfire fighters brace for threat ‘on steroids’

Winds and dryness heighten danger from Tunnel fire as teams battle blazes in American south-west

Firefighters working to keep more homes from burning on the edge of a mountain town in northern Arizona were treated to scattered showers and cooler temperatures early on Friday, but the favorable weather was not expected to last as more ferocious winds were forecast to batter parts of Arizona and all of New Mexico through the weekend.

The combination of high winds, warmer temperatures and extremely dry conditions will make for an atmosphere that's pretty much on steroids", said Scott Overpeck, with the National Weather Service in Albuquerque, New Mexico.