Crews fighting Navajo Nation blaze in Arizona search for hot spots

ALBUQUERQUE — Hundreds of firefighters spent Sunday scouring steep and rugged terrain just east of the Arizona-New Mexico border for any hot spots left from a wildfire that has scorched more than 22 square miles of the Navajo Nation.

Some pockets of pinon and juniper were smoldering, and flames were creeping along the interior of the Assayii Lake Fire.

But many parts have started to cool down, giving crews a chance to mop up along the edges of the blaze.

“They're going through and trying to identify any hot spots at all to the point where they're digging and taking off their glove and feeling it to make sure it has cooled completely down,” fire information officer Patricia Bean said.

Containment reached 60 percent on Sunday, and confidence was growing among firefighters as their lines held against brisk winds on Saturday.

Most of the evacuations for people living near the rural communities of Naschitti and Sheep Springs were lifted over the weekend, and roads north of the fire were opened. Areas to the south remained closed because of firefighting and rehabilitation activities.

Officials with the Navajo Nation accompanied ranchers with more than a dozen trailers into the mountains on Saturday to roundup cattle and livestock that were either trapped or scattered when the fire began to grow last week. The work continued on Sunday.

Some Navajo families were concerned that their sheep camps were charred.

Fire officials have said the blaze destroyed a handful of structures and the assessment was ongoing.