Evacuations Arizona

Fire in a mountain of automobile tires continued to burn Wednesday, prompting officials to order up to 2,000 people from their homes because of thick black smoke. The fire at Ari-tex Tire Removal in southwest Phoenix started Tuesday evening after two children set fire to grass nearby, authorities said.

Henry Ray, 80, who was moving from his native Arkansas to California 31 years ago when he decided instead to pull off the road and settle down here, says he's not afraid of "a little" water. But the amount of water that is expected to rush down the normally dry Gila River just north of Ray's ancient mobile home is more than a little. The people who know about these things say the Gila could jump its banks and fan out for up to three miles.

Henry Ray, 80, who was moving from his native Arkansas to California 31 years ago when he decided instead to pull off the road and settle down here, says he's not afraid of "a little" water. But the amount of water that is expected to rush down the normally dry Gila River just north of Ray's ancient mobile home is more than a little. The people who know about these things say the Gila could jump its banks and fan out for up to three miles.

Fire in a mountain of automobile tires continued to burn Wednesday, prompting officials to order up to 2,000 people from their homes because of thick black smoke. The fire at Ari-tex Tire Removal in southwest Phoenix started Tuesday evening after two children set fire to grass nearby, authorities said.