High winds drive wildfires across US

US firefighters are battling multiple wildfires as tinder-dry conditions and high winds whip up flames from Arizona to Florida, including a prairie fire in Nebraska that has killed one person and destroyed at least six homes.

A break in the weather in parts of the midwest and west allowed crews to make progress on Monday on some of the nearly dozen new large fires: four in New Mexico, three in Colorado and one each in Florida, Nebraska, South Dakota and Texas.

With almost 3500 square kilometres burned this year, the National Interagency Fire Center says the amount of land singed is outpacing the 10-year average by about 30 per cent.

Hotter, drier weather has combined with drought to worsen fire danger across many parts of the west.

In northern New Mexico, evacuations remained in place for several communities and conditions were still too volatile for authorities to assess the damage caused on Friday and Saturday.

The blaze has grown into the largest wildfire burning in the US, charring almost 230 sq km.

Thanks to lighter winds in the midwest on Monday, firefighters made significant progress on the fire that's burned about 180 sq km near the Nebraska-Kansas state line. It's now about 50 per cent contained.

It has destroyed at least six homes and threatened 660 others, along with 50 commercial or farm buildings.

A retired fire chief who was helping as a fire spotter died on Friday night after his truck went off the road in a blinding haze of smoke and dust.

In Arizona, firefighters also took advantage of lighter winds to boost containment of a more than 85 sq km blaze that has been burning outside Flagstaff for more than a week.

Strong winds are expected to return later this week.