Giant wildfire rages across Arizona

A wildfire that has consumed more than 350 square miles in eastern Arizona, in the southern United States, is approaching populated areas along the border with New Mexico.

Hundreds of people have evacuated their homes as some 2,300 firefighters continue to battle flames in the Apache Sitgreaves National Forest.

The fire is casting an orange glow across the sky that can be seen for miles, and smoke from the blaze has been reported as far afield as Iowa and Wisconsin.

Authorities have ordered the evacuation of Greer, Arizona, a popular summer retreat in the region and home to 200 permanent residents.

Last week residents of the towns of Alpine and Nutrioso were ordered from their homes, with no estimate given for when they could return.

Smoke from the Arizona blaze has been reported as far afield as Iowa and Wisconsin.

Flights in the area have been disrupted and an air quality alert has been issued in New Mexico.

The Wallow Fire, which is burning 250 miles north east of Phoenix, Arizona’s capital, now ranks as the third largest fire on record in the state.

The Arizona Governor, Jan Brewer, declared a state of emergency on Monday in two counties, Apache and Greenlee.

The weather helped firefighting efforts over the weekend. Prospects for containment of the blaze are similarly dependent in meteorological conditions, according to Matt Benson, a spokesman for the governor.

Meanwhile, firefighters in south eastern Arizona are reported to have made good progress in combating a separate large wildfire, dubbed Horseshoe 2, which has consumed more than 100,000 acres and prompted the evacuation of two small communities in the area.