Western wildfires force evacuations in Arizona, California

(KYMA, KECY/ AP News) - Evacuations are still in place as the Pipeline Fire which began Sunday morning and had burned approximately 4,000 acres by late Sunday night in the outskirts of Flagstaff.

Now, the blaze has burned over 5,000 acres and remains 0% contained.

Fire crews were anticipating more moderate winds Tuesday and throughout the week, which could help them get a better handle on the blaze, but instead made a run into a wilderness area and toward a lava dome volcano.

Roughly 2,500 homes have been evacuated because of two wildfires burning on the outskirts of Flagstaff.

One home and a secondary structure have burned. Meanwhile, hundreds of other people in California and New Mexico have also been forced to flee homes threatened by wildfires.

Also, authorities don’t yet know what started the northern Arizona fire.

A man who was camping near where the fire was reported Sunday was cited a day earlier for lighting toilet paper on fire in violation of a year-round fire ban in the area.

But despite this, authorities do say he is not charged with starting the wildfire.