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replica coach handbagsFirefighters across the southwestern United States on Sunday have faced some of the

worst weather conditions of the season for battling blazes currently raging across the region.

The National Weather Service issued a red flag warning for most of Arizona, all of New Mexico, much of north Texas and portions of Oklahoma, Colorado, Kansas

and Utah for Sunday. A red flag warning means weather conditions -- mainly high heat, low humidity and strong winds -- pose an extreme fire risk.

"The winds certainly will be very gusty and strong," said Ken Daniel, weather service meteorologist in Flagstaff, Arizona. "Any new fire starts would have

the potential to have explosive growth."

The forecast calls for winds of 30 mph or more in some areas, with gusts of up to 50 mph, Daniel said.

There are currently dozens of active wildfires burning in Arizona, New Mexico and Texas, according to InciWeb, an online interagency database that tracks

fires, floods and other disasters.

Air MaxNationwide, wildfires have burned almost as many acres in the first half of 2011 as were

recorded by the National Interagency Fire Center for all of 2010. The agency reports on its website that 3.1 million acres in the United States had been

ignited by wildfires as of May 31, compared to 3.2 million burned acres cited in the organization's year-end report in November 2010.

One Arizona blaze that started May 29 has mushroomed into a historically large wildfire. Known as the Wallow fire, it has burned 511,118 acres and was 44%

contained as of Sunday.

Residents of Luna, New Mexico, were ordered to evacuate Saturday afternoon after the blaze jumped containment lines along U.S. 180, according to InciWeb.

cheap nike shoes storeBut fire public information officer Rich Szlauko had some good news, telling CNN that in

terms of bringing the Wallow fire under control, "everything is starting to look pretty good."

Some 3,600 people continue to battle the blaze, in the face of winds Sunday measuring 20-30 mph, he said.

Meanwhile, a smaller but fast-moving wildfire is raging in the southeastern corner of Arizona.

That blaze, the so-called Monument fire, has emerged as "the number one priority" for firefighters nationwide, according to the chief of the U.S. Forest

Service.

"The conditions that we're dealing with here are as bad as we can get," said Tom Tidwell, head of the U.S. Forest Service, of the combination of high

temperatures, low humidity, ample fuel and strong winds. "It just can't get any worse."

Gordon Van Vleet, a spokesman for the Joint Information Center, said no cause has been determined for the Monument fire, which has spread across the Huachuca

Mountains and burned 20,956 acres as of Sunday afternoon. He said authorities likely won't state a cause until the blaze is more under control.

"We know where it started and when it started, but (the specific cause) is under investigation," Tidwell said.
Coach Wallets "When we do have that information, we will share it."

U.S. Sen. John McCain blamed illegal immigrants for starting unspecified fires in the area at a press conference Saturday. However, the Arizona Republican

did not provide evidence to back up the accusation, which prompted rebukes from Latino civil rights leaders.

While a fire at the U.S. Army's Fort Huachuca is 100% contained, according to Van Vleet, the Monument fire was 27% contained as of Saturday afternoon -- an

improvement over the 15% figure in the morning, but certainly dangerous given the inordinately dry and windy conditions.

"This has been the number one priority in the country for a couple of days," Tidwell said. "That means this will receive resources before anyone else."

The Monument fire, just south of Sierra Vista, Arizona, has destroyed 44 homes, fire officials say.

People living in Sierra Vista were ordered to leave Sunday while firefighters conducted burn-out operations in an attempt to stop the fire moving that way,

CNN's Thelma Gutierrez reported from the area.

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer has issued emergency declarations for the Monument fire and another blaze, Horseshoe II, making Cochise County eligible for $100,000

toward response and recovery expenses.

Meanwhile, residents of the eastern Arizona community of Alpine were able to return home, according to fire spokesman John Helmich.
Nike Air Max 97 The community has a population of about 300, but many more

seasonal visitors were forced to leave earlier this month because of the Wallow fire.

Tidwell said earlier Saturday that he was "very optimistic" that damage from future wildfires could be minimized by thinning forests and clearing out biomass

-- which did occur, to some extent, in parts of eastern Arizona. He noted that 3.2 million acres were "treated" nationwide last year.