More residents of two towns were told to evacuate Wednesday as Arizona's massive wildfire continued to grow and threatened not only homes but power lines going to Texas and New Mexico. By midday, it was estimated to have burned through 607 square miles, up from 486 on Tuesday and an area that's twice the size of New York City.
The blaze threatens nearly 600 structures and has destroyed 11 buildings, primarily in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest. No serious injuries have been reported.
The fire also threatens a pair of transmission lines that supply electricity to hundreds of thousands of people as far east as Texas.
The blaze is expected to reach the power lines as early as Friday. If the lines are damaged, parts of New Mexico and Texas could face rolling blackouts.
El Paso Electric issued warnings of possible power interruptions for its customers in southern New Mexico and West Texas.
Texas-based El Paso Electric uses two high voltage lines to bring electricity from the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station west of Phoenix to the two states. Losing the lines would cut off about 40 percent of the utility's supply, possibly triggering the rolling blackouts among its 372,000 customers.
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