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June 26, 2008 - 3:54PM
Updated: June 26, 2008 - 11:46PM
Crews hoping to contain Laveen brush fire
The Associated Press
Fire crews say they're hoping to get a handle on a smoky fire churning through heavy brush in the dry Gila River bed southwest of Phoenix with bulldozers and hand crews.
SLIDESHOW: See photos of the fire
Firefighters battle Gila brush fire
Gila River Fire Department deputy chief Dave Martin says cooler morning weather and calm winds have slowed the fire's advance. But with hotter temperatures expected Friday afternoon, the blaze is expected to flare up again.
The fire has burned an estimated 1,200 to 1,300 acres of salt cedar and mesquite in the river bottom since it was sparked by a lightning strike on Wednesday. No homes are threatened, and no injuries have been reported.
About a dozen people heeded calls to voluntarily evacuate Wednesday and were returning to their homes Friday after the fire danger passed. But Martin says an equal number of residents have now been asked to leave the area.
The fire has been casting a huge pall of smoke visible across much of metropolitan Phoenix each afternoon.
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