The Wallow Fire burning in eastern Arizona has pushed its way across the White Mountains charring 150,000 acres so far, with no end in sight.

It is now the third-largest wildfire in Arizona history.

And it is "absolutely frightening," Gov. Jan Brewer said Saturday afternoon after viewing the destruction from a plane. "It was unbelievable."

The fire ended its seventh day Saturday after substantial growth overnight, fire officials said, with zero percent containment. About 1,300 firefighters are battling the blaze that has forced the evacuations of the communities of Alpine and Nutrioso and continues to threaten Greer.

Firefighters also have been battling two other wildfires across the state.

Late Saturday afternoon, incident commander Joe Reinarz said the fire was less than eight miles from Greer and about 20 miles from the Eagar/Springerville area. The fire's speed had slowed, covering about six miles in a day.

Brewer met with the fire-management team and U.S. Forest Service officials and then shared her experience: "It was expansive white smoke, then black smoke," she said. "You could see fire on the ground. It's like something I have never experienced from the air before."

The governor said she will look for state and federal resources, if necessary, to battle the blaze. Estimated cost of the fire is $3 million and expected to rise.

With no natural barriers to stop it, the fire has the potential to grow, depending on weather conditions, officials said.

"Luckily, the winds are going to slightly decrease today so we should be able to get our aerial resources in," said Brad Pitassi, a spokesman for the Type 1 incident management team, which arrived Friday. "But if a couple strong wind gusts hit, there's no telling how far this fire could reach."

Also battling the blaze are 29 firefighter hand crews, nine helicopters, four air tankers, four air attack planes and 60 engines.

"Mother Nature's the one that dictates," Pitassi said. "But we are doing what we can to let people know."

Although firefighters have managed to save every structure so far, residents and mountain enthusiasts are wondering how severe the damage will be to the forest.

Officials don't yet have a cause for the blaze that forced residents to flee and caused road closures.

The Apache County Sheriff's Office issued a pre-evacuation notice for Greer late Friday night, meaning that residents should be ready to leave within 12 to 24 hours, if necessary. Although evacuation may not be mandatory, about 200 guests at the Greer Lodge Resort & Cabins were evacuated Saturday morning as a precaution.

"It's been voluntary up until now, but it's time for them to go," reservations manager Tracy Marasco said. "The smoke is getting more yellow, looks like more of a reflective from flames. The wind is still kicking up. We don't want to take any chances."

Marasco said that around 4 a.m. Saturday the smoke became so thick it was difficult to breathe. "It would wake you up in your sleep. You could taste it," she said. "This might sound funny, but it tastes different - it tastes new, fresh."

The resort's historic main lodge and restaurant were destroyed in an unrelated fire on May 10.

Wallow is surpassed in size by the Rodeo-Chediski blaze, which burned more than 460,000 acres in eastern Arizona in 2002, and the Cave Creek Complex Fire, which charred more than 240,000 acres in 2005.

The Wallow Fire has surpassed the 2004 Willow Fire, which burned about 120,000 acres near Payson.

Another tourist spot - Hannagan Meadow Lodge, Arizona's oldest and some say most beautiful lodge - was in jeopardy last week.

The lodge sits in the middle of the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests surrounded by some of the tallest pine trees in the contiguous 48 states.

But those pines posed a grave threat to the 1926 dwelling.

"We knew it was a historic place," said William Bishop, a spokesman with the Eastern Arizona Management Team. Hannagan Meadow was one of the first major structures in the Wallow Fire's path and was evacuated early last week.

"It's hard for people to get excited to stay in the wilderness and in the mountains when there's nothing there," said Kelvin Crezee, co-owner of the Hannagan lodge.

"A lot of fires have burned around us," Crezee said. "A few years ago, the Steeple Fire was very close, but we've survived. This one will leave a scar."

Crews worked to remove fuel from around the lodge, then bulldozed lines around the back of the lodge. Sprinkler lines around the lodge, a single structure with 10 rooms and surrounded by windows, were left on.

"The fire came within five miles of Hannagan," said Cheto Olias, a deputy incident commander with the Eastern Arizona Management Team.

At a community meeting Friday, Olias said that some firefighters were stranded at the lodge because the fire had burned around them and compromised U.S. 191, the road to lead them out.

"The fire never crossed 191 at Hannagan," Olias said. The area around the lodge is now considered safe.

For lodge co-owner Larry Innes, the beauty of the meadow sets it apart from other areas. "That's what's different about Hannagan. It's been there for so long and hasn't changed," Innes said. "It's Forest Service land. We've tried to make it a part of nature, for people looking for a quiet place."

The protected national forest also made it an ideal place to reintroduce the endangered Mexican gray wolf, Innes said. Still, Innes, who grew up in the Gila Valley around Safford, is optimistic.

"Things will recover," he said. "We might have to run it different than before, but we will recover. It's sad to see this destroyed but this is nature's way of cleaning the forest."