--- description: Authorities outside Flagstaff have warned that thousands of people may have to evacuate their homes on Thursday. title: Authorities Issue Evacuation Warning after Arizona Wildfire Spreads image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0d7bb65adc0c168b/69869094e53aba5f754d2b2a/arizona-wild-fire.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [weather](/tag/weather/) ## weather Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Thousands May Have to Flee as Arizona Wildfire Explodes in Size  by [Noah Rayman](/author/noah-rayman/)  ## Noah Rayman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 22, 2014 12:14 PM CUT  The Slide Fire burns near 89 A south of Flagstaff, Arizona on May 21, 2014. The Slide Fire burns near 89 A south of Flagstaff, Arizona on May 21, 2014.Tom Tingle—Arizona Republic/AP  by [Noah Rayman](/author/noah-rayman/)  ## Noah Rayman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 22, 2014 12:14 PM CUT Authorities in Arizona [have warned that thousands of people](http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/article/3874/21928/ "undefined") may have to evacuate their homes on Thursday after a wildfire rapidly expanded near Flagstaff. Nearly 4,500 acres between Flagstaff and Sedona are now in flames after a wildfire grew roughly 10 times in size over a 24-hour period, [AZCentral.com reports](http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/arizona/2014/05/21/sedona-wildfire-arizona-wildfire-slide-fire-abrk/9368367/ "undefined"). Approximately 500 firefighters are battling the blaze, but erratic winds have grounded fire-fighting aircraft, hampering response efforts. “Everything’s kind of going against us,” Bob Orrill, a liaison officer for a response team told residents, according to AZCentral.com. The blaze has raised concerns of a devastating wildfire season amid a drought that has left Arizona’s wooded areas particularly vulnerable. It also comes less than a year after a fire in nearby Prescott killed 19 Hotshot firefighters. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/108773/arizona-wildfires/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/108773/arizona-wildfires/"},"headline":"Thousands May Have to Flee as Arizona Wildfire Explodes in Size","datePublished":"2014-05-22T12:14:08.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T07:59:34.339Z","description":"The blaze has raised concerns of a devastating wildfire season amid a drought that has left the woods particularly vulnerable.","url":"https://time.com/108773/arizona-wildfires/","keywords":["weather","Wildfire","fire","Arizona"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0d7bb65adc0c168b/69869094e53aba5f754d2b2a/arizona-wild-fire.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Noah Rayman","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/noah-rayman/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0d7bb65adc0c168b/69869094e53aba5f754d2b2a/arizona-wild-fire.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Arizona Wild Fire","caption":"Arizona Wild Fire","creditText":"Tom Tingle—Arizona Republic/AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/weather/","name":"weather"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/108773/arizona-wildfires/","name":"Thousands May Have to Flee as Arizona Wildfire Explodes in Size"}}]}] ```