This is the stunning footage showing a plane dropping fire retardant powder on a wildfire devastating large areas of eastern Arizona.

Two spreading wildfires in the US state of Arizona have destroyed over 109,000 acres as of yesterday afternoon, according to the Arizona Interagency Dispatch Center.

Incident Commander Dave Bales said the Telegraph Fire has burned over 56,000 acres in and around the southern border of the Tonto National Forest and is still spreading.

As of Monday afternoon, the Telegraph Fire had also surrounded the mining town of Superior in Pinal County as fire crews try to prevent it spreading along the US Route 60 and houses to the south of the motorway.

Bales said the cause of the blaze appears to be “human”, but the incident is still being investigated.

The local authorities said the wildfire is less than a mile from the Top of the World community with around 250 residents.

On Sunday morning, the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office said that community residents had been ordered to evacuate their homes.

The day before, Tonto National Forest officials issued a closure order and temporarily banned the public from being in the restricted area during the blaze.

The interagency’s website (InciWeb) said “it is a fast-moving and dynamic fire”, adding that strong winds are driving the blaze as it consumes dried-out vegetation in the region following a drought.

Yesterday, the Gila County Sheriff’s Office posted footage of a plane dropping red retardant powder on an affected area close to the town of Miami in Arizona.

They accompanied the footage with the message: “This evening as crews were holding lines outside of Miami. Miami remains on ‘Set’ notification.”