NU Online News Service, June 23, 9:25 a.m. EST
Insurers are beginning to see claims as evacuation orders are lifted and residents return to their homes in Arizona while two major wildfires continue to consume thousands of acres in the state.
A spokeswoman for the Arizona Insurance Council says evacuations have been lifted for most of Northeastern Arizona where the Wallow fire has burned.
She says many homeowners in the area are reporting smoke damage in homes and debris from ash, and that such damage is expected to make up the bulk of claims filed.
Fire officials report 32 residencies were completely destroyed in the wildfire that began on May 29. Five were damaged by fire, says the AIC spokeswoman.
A total of 72 structures are reported completely lost from that blaze that has consumed close to 528,000 acres.
Fire officials now say that the blaze is 58 percent contained.
Further south, near the border with Mexico, insurers and state officials are watching the Monument fire that has consumed more than 27,200 acres and is now 45 percent contained.
The fire service reports 84 structures have been lost in that blaze that began on June 12. News reports say 58 homes have been lost in that fire. The National Interagency Coordination Center says there are currently nine uncontained wildfires raging in Arizona and New Mexico that have consumed 206 structures and more than 850,000 acres.
The Monument fire, which reportedly began in the Coronado National Forest, has also created a firestorm of political controversy when Sen. John McCain blamed the fire on undocumented aliens. A local sheriff made the assessment, according to a local report.
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