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Grand Canyon wildfire 60 percent-contained

PHOENIX
Wed Apr 30, 2008 10:03pm EDT
A satellite image taken Wednesday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) shows a plume of smoke moving northeast from the Kaibab National Forest in northern Arizona. REUTERS/NOAA/Handout

PHOENIX (Reuters) - A wildfire burning out of control toward the Grand Canyon was largely contained late on Wednesday, forest service officials said.

Fire crews with trucks, bulldozers and aircraft achieved "60 percent containment" of the so-called X Fire that blazed a trail through the Kaibab National Forest in northern Arizona toward the Grand Canyon, the forest service said.

The blaze, which broke out on Tuesday, had burned 2,030 acres of pine forest, grassland and sage brush, fanned by strong winds and dry conditions.

Firefighters contained the fire more than a mile south of the Grand Canyon National Park boundary and were preparing to begin "mopping up" on Thursday, the forest service said in a news release.

The park remained open throughout the day, although a campground was shut indefinitely, and several forest roads and a trail were closed temporarily.

The Grand Canyon is one of the biggest tourist draws in the United States, and attracts 5 million visitors a year.

(Reporting by Tim Gaynor and David Schwartz; Editing by Peter Cooney)



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