Thousands evacuate as Arizona’s Tunnel Fire explodes to 6,000 acres and races towards homes on the outskirts of Flagstaff: High winds whip the blaze into 100-foot ‘wall of fire’

• 
  Tunnel Fire was 0 percent contained at 6,000 acres near Flagstaff on Tuesday
• Thousands of residents were evacuated as the wildfire with 100-foot flames raced toward homes
• Its not yet clear what started the blaze, which began on Sunday and exploded in size
• High winds are propelling the flames and forced tanker planes to abort their attempts to battle the blaze
• Officials say they aren’t certain whether everyone in the evacuation zone made it out alive 

By KEITH GRIFFITH FOR DAILYMAIL.COM and ASSOCIATED PRESS

On Tuesday morning the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office began emergency evacuation operations after the blaze jumped the fireline, with more than 200 homes directly threatened.

Officials said that an estimated 2,068 people lived in the area under evacuation orders, and that 766 households had been successfully evacuated, including more than 1,000 animals.

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At zero containment on Tuesday, the Tunnel Fire has grown to 6,000 acres since it began in unknown circumstances on Sunday about 14 miles northeast of Flagstaff, officials said+9View gallery

On Tuesday morning the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office began emergency evacuation operations after the blaze jumped the fireline, with more than 200 homes directly threatened+9View gallery

The fire was moving northeast away from the more heavily populated areas of Flagstaff, home to Northern Arizona University, and toward Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument

Coconino County Sheriff Jim Driscoll said that he was not certain that all residents in the evacuation area were able to make it out alive.

‘We did get calls that people, one person was trapped in his house, his house was on fire and he couldn’t get out,’ Driscoll told reporters. 

‘We couldn’t get back up to that area because it had burned, the fire was already in it. So we don’t know if he made it out or not.’

The county declared an emergency after the wildfire ballooned from 100 acres Tuesday morning to over 9 square miles by evening, and ash rained from the sky. 

The fire was moving northeast away from the more heavily populated areas of Flagstaff, home to Northern Arizona University, and toward Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument, said Coconino National Forest spokesman Brady Smith.

‘It’s good in that it´s not headed toward a very populated area, and it´s headed toward less fuel,’ Smith said. ‘But depending on the intensity of the fire, fire can still move across cinders.’……..More Here

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