CAREFREE, Ariz. (AP) – Relief mingled with sorrow as residents who fled a racing wildfire near Phoenix returned Friday to find many homes intact but others reduced to piles of ash with only the chimneys standing.

In neighboring Nevada, meanwhile, a series of fires surrounding Las Vegas cast a yellow pall of smoke over the Strip that lifted gradually as the day wore on. No structures were damaged in any of the southern Nevada fires, officials said.

In Arizona, 11 homes and three storage sheds were destroyed in Camp Creek, which bore the brunt of the fire. Homes elsewhere in the area about 20 miles northeast of Phoenix escaped serious damage, and the fire continued to move away Friday, leaving 46,000 acres scorched.

Tom Sell was among the lucky ones. The cabin he spent months restoring had been spared. “I’m devastated that there was a fire, but I’m ecstatic that my place is still here,” he said.

His neighbor, Glenn Wilt, lost his cabin. He said residents were saddened by the losses but added: “It goes up and it comes down, and we’ll just rebuild.”

The fire began Tuesday as two separate lightning-caused blazes that later merged. It forced the evacuation of 250 homes on Wednesday, including those in upscale Tonto Hills. Many of those residents had returned by Friday.

In Nevada, a total of 18 lightning-sparked blazes had charred more than 39,500 acres of parched grass, desert shrubs and mountain pines by Friday.

“We’re continuing to work in the air and on the ground, and we’re hoping Mother Nature and the winds will cooperate,” said Kirsten Cannon, a Bureau of Land Management fire spokeswoman.

Four of the more than 600 firefighters working in southern Nevada reported minor injuries, officials said.

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