San Juan fire in eastern Arizona grows to 5,000 acres

A wildfire burning in eastern Arizona's White Mountains grew to 5,000 acres Friday afternoon when it jumped containment lines and advanced into untreated areas with dry underbrush and steep terrain, officials said Friday.

The fire was expected to pick up as it moved into steep drought areas and it did Friday afternoon, jumping fire containment lines on its east and west sides, said Marta Call, a spokeswoman for the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests.

New mandatory evacuation orders were issued for the nearby Carlock Ranch area and the area south of Buckelew Springs, along Forest Service Road 61. Ninty structures are threatened.

Crews are establishing new containment lines and building back burns along Forest Service 61, she said.

Nine hot shots crews and five heavy air tankers were battling the blaze early Friday afternoon and additional helicopters and heavy tankers have been brought in since then, Call said

"We feel confident that we are protecting public safety," Call said.

The fire scorched 2,000 acres Thursday but firefighters were aided overnight by cool temperatures and low winds that prevented the fire's spread.

Local reporters and residents have been tweeting dramatic images of the fire from the ground using #SanJuanFire:

Follow @jpanzar for breaking news.

UPDATE

6 p.m.: This post has been updated to include new information on the fire's spread.