Threatened Arizona town again spared from flames

SHOW LOW, Ariz. (AP) -- Fire crews reported their first progress Wednesday against the worst wildfire in Arizona history, with containment lines around 5 percent of the galloping blaze that has burned 373,000 acres and destroyed at least 390 homes.

"We're on the scoreboard," said fire spokesman Jim Paxon. "We haven't been there for eight days. We're making some progress."

The containment was in the area of Caly Springs, Linden and Pinedale, among the communities hardest hit by the fire.

Calmer weather had helped firefighters in the forested highlands 125 miles northeast of Phoenix, but there were new concerns early Wednesday about a chance of thunderstorms that could produce lightning without rain.

Some smoke lifted in the fire area, but Paxon said that could allow the blaze to become more active. The dense smoke cloud had helped keep temperatures down and humidity up, which kept a lid on the fire, he said.

On Tuesday, President Bush surveyed the destruction from the air and then told evacuees at a high school in Eagar that people across America are pulling for them.