Colorado Fires
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Archive through June 16, 2002 25   06/16 04:38pm
Archive through June 21, 2002 25   06/21 12:37pm

Myjohnhenry

Friday, June 21, 2002 - 12:47 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Hayman fire information

This is one of the best sources of information on the Hayman Fire in Colorado.

Myjohnhenry

Friday, June 21, 2002 - 12:54 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
National Fire News

Fanny

Friday, June 21, 2002 - 02:11 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
I'm in an eastern Denver suburb, about 50 miles from the Hayman fire. Temp is 90, humidity is around 15%. It's probably a bit cooler in the mountains, but the humidity is likely not much different, so conditions for the firefighters must not be improved today. Skies here in the metro Denver area today are overcast...with smoke! (cough, hack, gag) Haven't heard any extraordinarily bad fire updates, which just means that it hasn't blown up in a nuclear kind of way. If it had, we'd have heard about it.

Wednesday night while sitting on my patio the smell of smoke was really strong and the visibility was so poor due to the winds blowing the smoke directly at us that I could barely see past my neighbor's house. What was strange was the ash falling, like in a light snowstorm. Little white flakes. When you'd examine them closely, you could see pine needles but when you'd touch them they'd disintegrate into grayish-white powder. And these extremely fragile ash fragments had traveled 50 miles in the air! After a couple hours outside my patio looked like it had been the site of a party of 100 smokers without ashtrays (but polite smokers who disposed of their butts).

It just blows my mind to wake up in the morning and smell campfire smoke, inside my house. I think my lungs have smoke damage! And I'm 50 miles away!

What an incredible force of nature to observe from a relatively close distance (I mean, to have ash falling on my patio?!) and yet not be threatened by it. I feel so badly for those who are directly affected by the fire and who have to put up with constant smoke much closer to them than what it is here. To say nothing, of course, of those who've lost homes, buildings & animals.

Anyway. Just some thoughts.

Gail

Friday, June 21, 2002 - 04:07 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
The mountains are barely visible where I'm at because of the smoke. A lot of people are starting to feel the effects of the smoke and having a lot of trouble breathing.

Where I work at, there are 9 families that could be affected if the fire shifts very much. I am on a list as a volunteer to take in a few small dogs if any of the families have to evacuate and also one of the families without kids, if need be.

On the news, they were announcing some different companies that have been making donations. One was Safeway - I didn't hear what they donated. One is Shell Oil - they are giving $50,000 and another was a company is donating $5,000,000 to help the volunteer fire departments.

IT has been really rough for the firefighters and they are asking for donations to help out. Alot of the firefighters are volunteer firefighters - this is not their usual day job. They need bottled water, boots, socks, energy bars, gloves, and lots of other things.

From www.kktv.com - Fire crews at the Hayman wildfire are predicting a tough weekend and are trying to get as much done as they can before the weather heats up. The U.S. Forest Service tells 11 News, unusually high humidity levels worked in their favor Thursday night and Friday morning, but that will not be the case for the weekend.

The latest on Terry Barton - An August 26 trial date is tentatively set for 38-year old Terry Barton, the U.S. Forest Service technician accused of starting the Hayman fire. A federal grand jury indictment charges here with intentionally setting the blaze.

Barton entered a not guilty plea to federal charges on Thursday in federal court in Denver. Bail was set at $600,000. U.S. Mgistrate Mike Watanabe has ordered Barton not to leave the state or enter a forest if she is released on bail.

She faces up to 65 years in prison and a $1 million fine if convicted of all charges.

Whoami

Friday, June 21, 2002 - 05:43 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Re: Terry Barton

Along with the other charges Gail listed, she may even face a homicide charge. A woman died of an asthma attack that was brought on by the smoke!

I don't feel sorry for her one bit. Even before I heard investigators thought she started it deliberatly (the husband's letter story), I felt they should throw every charge they can think of at her. She's either arrogantly stupid to think she could burn a fire when no one else could, or she is a truly evil person to have started it deliberatly.

Gail

Friday, June 21, 2002 - 07:23 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
My neighbor has asthma - something I didn't know about her until this past week. She also came down with bronchitis earlier this week.

It is hard to believe but tomorrow afternoon will mark 2 weeks since this fire started. 137,000 acres burned, 79 homes and 1 business destroyed and 413 out buildings. This devastation is hard to comprehend!

This is an interesting link -
http://www.pinecam.com/ it is a camera looking towards the Hayman fire. If you scroll farther down the page, there is a link to an online scanner you can listen to - they even have a message board for people to post updates from the scans. Hmmm . . that reminds me of something . . . :) At times, it is really quiet then you hear a few sounds or people talking.

I am really worried about Arizona's fires too - they get less rain then we do and much higher temps. I think they were saying it had been 60 years since they had had a fire where their big one is. The way it took off yesterday is scary.

Currently, there is a really good chance of thunderstorms which would really help if they produce any rain. The downside is one of the big fires going was caused by lightning.

I wish there was a way they could bring in about 10,000 more firefighters to fight these fires.

Kaili

Friday, June 21, 2002 - 07:49 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
There are a lot of articles on the Arizona fires available at www.azcentral.com the website for the state newspaper.

SHOW LOW - One of the worst fires in the state's history began gathering more steam Friday as winds picked up and a second fire continued edging closer to it.

A merger between the two fires roaring along the Mogollon Rim would create a 15-to-20 mile wall of flames that some fire officials said would consume as much as 300,000 acres - more than twice the 120,000-plus acres already devastated since the inferno began Tuesday.

The larger "Rodeo" fire grew to a monstrous size Thursday as thousands fled their homes through choking ash and firefighters stood helplessly because the blaze was too dangerous to fight head-on. It charred 120,000 acres by Friday morning.

By late Thursday, the fire had virtually emptied six towns; forced 5,200 people from their homes; burned about 50 homes, business and other structures; and had grown to 85,000 acres, an area slightly larger than Mesa.

Steady winds of 25 mph and gusts of up to 45 mph joined temperatures of 90 degrees and low-humidity levels to create conditions that thwarted the launching of any major offensive firefighting effort.


Another article discusses how extreme the fire danger is in Arizona. I'll just put one short section here.

Moisture levels in brush and trees have plunged lower than kiln-dried lumber. The potential fire energy in some wildland areas has climbed off the regular charts. High temperatures and almost non-existent humidity mean if there's a spark, there's going to be a fire, probably a big one.

Fanny

Friday, June 21, 2002 - 09:14 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Sad news tonight. Four firefighters died late this afternoon in Colorado. They were on their way to fight the Hayman fire from their base in LaGrande, Oregon, when their van overturned on I-70 near Parachute, CO. Seven survived, some are in critical condition.

Sunriverose

Friday, June 21, 2002 - 09:40 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Was it the Colorado or the Arizona fire that had the crash of the firefighting airplane that killed three men?

Fanny

Friday, June 21, 2002 - 09:45 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Earlier in the week? That was California.

Sunriverose

Friday, June 21, 2002 - 09:52 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Thanks Fanny.

Seamonkey

Friday, June 21, 2002 - 10:35 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
I'm sorry to hear about the deaths.. also quite angry about the source of the fire.

Juju2bigdog

Friday, June 21, 2002 - 11:31 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Heard from some friends this morning. They live on the Mogollon Rim, got evacuated yesterday. haven't heard from later in the day if their house is still there.

Gail

Saturday, June 22, 2002 - 07:22 am EditMoveDeleteIP
This is a pretty good update/summary from AOL this morning - it covers Arizona, Colorado and California's fires.

By FOSTER KLUG
c. The Associated Press

SHOW LOW, Ariz. (June 22) - One of the worst wildfires in state history and a second blaze just six miles away threatened to merge as they tested an already overwhelmed fire team trying to protect pine-studded enclaves in the mountains of eastern Arizona.

The bigger of the two fires had blown up to 128,000 acres by Friday, forcing thousands of homeowners to flee. At least 12 homes and 20 other smaller structures were destroyed in the Pinedale community near Show Low, 125 miles northeast of Phoenix.

But firefighters took a stand Friday by digging a fire line that protected the nearby town of Linden, and expected winds and temperatures to drop Saturday.

Up to 4,000 people were evacuated from Pinedale, Clay Springs and Linden. Another 11,000 residents in Show Low and Pinetop-Lakeside were preparing to evacuate if necessary.

The second fire grew to about 20,000 acres and forced the evacuation of 4,000 people from Heber-Overgaard and Aripine, two other mountain communities.

The infernos rattled nerves across a region known for tranquil mountains and mild weather. Nestled against the White Mountains of Arizona, the area is a major draw for hikers and campers and is a summer getaway for Phoenix-area residents trying to escape the heat.

In Colorado, meanwhile, four firefighters died when a van from La Grande, Ore., swerved on Interstate 70 and rolled four times. The van was part of an eight-vehicle convoy headed to a 137,000-acre wildfire southwest of Denver, the largest in Colorado history.

Cooler weather, including some rain, allowed crews to extend containment lines around 60 percent of the Denver-area fire. But fire information officer Tim Evans said he expected the work to be put to the test by Saturday's warmer, drier weather.

Firefighters discovered more houses that had been destroyed, boosting the total of lost homes to 114. About 420 other buildings were also destroyed.

Arizona fire crews planned to continue digging lines near a canyon southwest of Show Low on Saturday in an attempt to stop the blaze from reaching the town, the commercial hub of the area.

About 100 homeowners in Linden and Clay Springs refused to evacuate, fire spokesman Jim Paxon said in Show Low, 10 miles east of the threatened towns.

Paxon warned the residents that they could become trapped if the blaze invaded their communities. No one had been reported missing Friday night.

''Mother Nature is still running things but we're getting even with her,'' said Paxon.

Gov. Jane Hull asked President Bush to declare an emergency, which would allow the federal government to provide money to help cover the costs of damage caused by the fires.

The second fire was begun by a lost hiker signaling for help. The first also was thought to be manmade, although authorities didn't know whether it was an accident or arson.

In California, a 1,460-acre blaze in the Tejon Pass about 70 miles northwest of Los Angeles was contained and a 113-acre fire in the Angeles National Forest's Big Tujunga Canyon was 90 percent contained. In the San Bernardino National Forest 50 miles east of Los Angeles, an arson-caused fire that burned across 6,816 acres was 95 percent contained.

AP-NY-06-22-02 0536EDT

Gail

Sunday, June 23, 2002 - 04:05 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
From CBS evening news - 300,000 acres in Arizona near Show low - this is heartbreaking!!

There are 21 major fires burning in 7 western states.

Good news! The Hayman fire here in Colorado is nearly 70% contained.

Soeur

Monday, June 24, 2002 - 04:53 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Hayman

Sia

Monday, June 24, 2002 - 08:50 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
There is coverage of the western fires where I live, but nothing has been said about how authorities are advising citizens to prepare for the advancing fire-lines. It's really been bothering me to think that people will return to where they lived, only to find that nothing at all remains except ashes and charred timbers.

I've tried to imagine what one could do to prepare for this, but haven't heard a thing in the media about it. My idea is that perhaps a family could dig a hole in the yard and bury waterproof plastic (Rubbermaid, e.g.) totes filled with their photos and treasured keepsakes, all sealed in gallon Zip-lok bags. If the top of such a container were at least a foot below the dirt, would the contents be protected from the fire, heat and water to follow? I've thought that people in some areas might have time to prepare to abandon their homes, but would be limited as to how much they could physically carry with them as they evacuate.

Could a filled swimming pool help to protect some items from damage? Would a "tornado-room" (built of ribar-reinforced concrete) withstand the heat of a wildfire? It's just heartbreaking to think how many uninsured or under-insured people will not only lose their homes and their possessions, but who may also lose beloved pets and other things that simply cannot be replaced. What are they being told to do?

Faerygdds

Tuesday, June 25, 2002 - 01:25 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Sia... The places that are in danger are VERY small communitites. I heard through the grapvine (friends and family IN that area) that there have been town meetings at local high schools to discuss preparations for the possibility of the fire reaching their areas. In Woodland park, they have also been distributing dust masks to aid in the "ash problem". Unless it starts to creep towards a major metro area... the prep instructions won't reach the media.

I used to live in Pikes National Forest in a little town 5 miles east of Woodland Park called Green Mountain Falls. Before that I lived 5 miles further East in Cascade. The populations of these communites is very very small... and like most small towns.. everyone knows everyone else.

As far as what they are exactly being told, I don't know. I haven't contacted anyone that still lives up in the mountains. Many of them moved down the pass to Colorado Springs. Now I CAN tell you that ppl in CS are being advised of the heath risks etc of the smoke right now. So I know that at least locally they are getting info. I just don't think we get to hear it nationally.

Sia

Tuesday, June 25, 2002 - 06:37 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Thanks for the information, Faery. I am sure you're right about the townspeople getting instructions from the local emergency management agencies. That makes me feel better; I was getting frustrated feeling that the people weren't being offered any concrete assistance/advice until after the fact--when it would be too late to help them.

There are severe asthmatics in my extended family, so I don't know what they would do in such a case, and it helps to have thought of these things beforehand. What a helpless feeling to have to grab one's things and run; last night I actually had a dream about having less than 24 hours to leave my home. It must be terribly stressful for families in this situation. I hope they're being treated well by the authorities--and that real disaster assistance is offered to them immediately.

Faerygdds

Tuesday, June 25, 2002 - 09:09 am EditMoveDeleteIP
From Gazette.com

June 25, 2002


Smoke ends life - and love story
By Cary Leider Vogrin The Gazette


FLORISSANT - Gary Dow sat in his living room Monday afternoon and told a love story.

About how he and Ann would sit on the same side of the booth when they'd go out to dinner. How they celebrated anniversaries by the month, not just each year. How she taught him about the arts; how he educated her in science and photography.

"I didn't know another couple that liked and loved one another as much as Ann and I did," he said.

On the early evening of June 10, Ann and Gary sat down with a white legal pad and put together a list of things to pack in their red Kia if the Hayman fire came their way. First on the list, the couple's dog and two cats. Also written in pencil: two urns filled with the ashes of two other beloved cats, prescriptions, music boxes, the computer, jewelry, clothes, slides and photos, digital camera, financial papers.

"While we were sitting here making up a list, she suddenly said, 'I smell smoke,'" Gary said.

Within a few hours, Ann, 50, was dead.

"She had a severe asthmatic attack that was brought on by exposure to smoke," her family doctor, Ripley Hollister, said Monday.

Hers so far is the only death directly tied to the Hayman fire. Five others - workers from an Oregon forestry company - died after their van rolled on Interstate 70 as they were en route to the fire Friday.

Jeff Dorschner, spokesman for U.S. Attorney John Suthers, said Monday that it's "premature" to discuss whether Ann Dow's death will result in additional charges against forestry worker Terry Barton, who is charged with setting the blaze. "There's not going to be any news today or for some time." Dorschner said prosecutors need time to review Dow's medical records before making any decision.

Gary and Ann Dow moved to their modular home 10 miles south of Florissant from Monument about six months ago. The couple had been in the Colorado Springs area for about seven years, hoping all along to get their dream home in the mountains.

In January, they got a lease-to-buy option on the house, which sits on 21/2 acres of land up a washboard-gravel road off Teller County Road 1. From their driveway is a grand view of Dome Rock in Mueller State Park. Pine trees dot the landscape everywhere else. It's so quiet here that all you can hear is the wind, Gary said. And if luck comes around, the sound of raindrops.

"We'd just go and stand in the front door and say, 'I can't believe we live here,'" said Gary, 59. "Even though we didn't own the house, there was no doubt in our minds we were going to buy. We had enough plans in this place to last us the rest of our life."

It was from that front door where Ann first saw the smoke while the couple was making their list. Ann thought maybe the fire was close, so Gary got in the Kia to take a drive and check things out.

The Hayman fire was miles away, and Gary turned the car around. He found himself following an ambulance. He didn't know it, but it was going to his house. When he pulled up the dirt drive, Ann, who had called 911, was standing on the porch. She was doubled over, with her inhaler in her hand.

Emergency workers and volunteer firefighters administered CPR, pounded on Ann's chest, even used a defibrillator, Gary said. Ann was then flown by helicopter to Penrose Hospital in Colorado Springs. Gary drove the 40-plus miles to the hospital by himself, not knowing what he would find.

Ann's three children from a previous marriage came to Colorado to spend a few days with Gary.

On Monday morning, he went to work for a few hours. It was the first time since Ann's death that he had been back to his job at WorldCom, where he designs Web sites.

On Monday afternoon, he returned home to try to make sense of the couple's finances. Ann had taken care of the money end of things and paid the bills. Now Gary tried to decipher all the paperwork tucked inside a briefcase, accordion file and two other filing boxes scattered about the living room.

Money is tight. Ann wasn't working when she died, and the couple had life insurance on Gary but not Ann.

The rent is due on his house today, but he doesn't have it. His landlord was gracious enough to let it slide a bit, and Gary is grateful.

Gary said he hopes to be able to stay in the home, to live out the life he and Ann had planned.

He said he believes Terry Barton is responsible for his wife's death. Still, he said he doesn't plan to seek legal action against her. And he holds no ill will toward the woman who now sits in jail and could face a minimum of 17 years in prison if convicted of starting the Hayman fire.

"I understand that she didn't intend to hurt anybody by what she did - it just got out of hand. For that reason, I don't really have any animosity toward her."

This past Saturday, June 22, would have been Gary and Ann's 21st wedding anniversary. Gary and Ann, however, marked anniversaries a bit differently than other couples. Instead of celebrating just once a year, they'd exchange cards or go out to dinner on the 22nd of each month. This, Gary said, would have been their 252nd month as husband and wife.

"For a normal or average couple, two people meet, find things in common and get married. Over the years, they find their own interests and grow apart," he said. "As time went by, we grew together. Each time one of us got interested in something new, we just pulled the other one along.

"She and I were our best friends and we preferred each other's company to anybody else."

Whoami

Tuesday, June 25, 2002 - 12:37 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Gary Dow has a lot more patience than I do.

I say string Terry Barton up for Ann's death, as well as the five firefighters who died on the way to fight the fire.

One thing I remember in one law class I took (it was 20 years ago, maybe things have changed), was how a felony murder charge can come about. If anyone dies during the course of that felony, the perpetrator can be charged with Felony Murder (a Capitol offense, which means First Degree Murder).

For instance, in a bank robbery, if someone stresses out and has a heart attack and dies, or if an overanxious cop storms in and shoots/kills a customer by mistake, the person committing the felony can be charged with felony murder over that person's death.

If the fire hadn't happened, those firefighters would not have been on thier way to fight the fire, and would not have had the accident, and would not have died.

I don't know for sure. But I can't imagine that arson wouldn't be considered a felony (rather than a misdemeanor).

Faerygdds

Tuesday, June 25, 2002 - 05:34 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Whoami:

Remember that Gary Dow is not looking at whether or not they CAN prosecute or punish her for his wife's death, but whether or not they SHOULD! I would think that the understanding and wisdom of this OBVIOUSLY very GOOD man would serve as a lesson to us all.

Yes Terry Barton deserves to be punished for what she did. Her careless act destroyed a place that I used to call home. I know what that particular stretch of ranges looked like 2 years ago. And that saddens me. But to let my sadness turn to anger and to villify the person who started it -- well, it's just wrong.

Look... I got into a wreck with a 16 year old. My life has been irrevocably changed. I could seek my revenge against him and his family, but what purpose would that serve? I might get some money out of it... I might get some sense of fairness... Maybe I should just take a baseball bat and beat him about the back so that he hurts as bad as I do -- would that be fair? no... all I would do is forever change the life of an innocent boy who made a mistake. Unfortunately his mistake cost me my way of life, but that does not mean I deserve to take his in return. It's the same thing here.

Terry Barton started a fire... for whatever reason. She tried to put it out and it got out of hand. She did not mean to kill anyone... she did not mean to burn 130,000 acres. The fact that it has happened is TRAGIC!!! But "stringing" her up isn't going to bring back the trees or Ann Dow.

I guess my point is that it isn't ABOUT patience. It's about compassion. Terry Barton's life WILL be destroyed along with Pike National Forest. She will spend a minimum of 8 years in jail before she will be eligible for parole. These are small communities where, her family and she will most likely never be able to return. And she will miss watching her children grow up. All because she made a mistake. Finally... she has to LIVE each day knowing what she did...

I think that's punishment enough...

Whoami

Tuesday, June 25, 2002 - 05:53 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
You're right Faerygdds.

I know her life will be changed forever. And sadly, her family will be punished as well.

I'm not so sure I can say I feel sorry for her, cause I don't. At least not now. Yes, she made a mistake. But whatever the real story is (deliberate setting, or stupid mistake), it's just plain stupid, and she knew better.

Gail

Tuesday, June 25, 2002 - 05:56 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Terry Barton has to live with the fact that she caused over 100 homes to burn along with 137,000 acres of the forest not to mention all the wildlife that was killed. That is a lot to have to live with.

Faerygdds

Tuesday, June 25, 2002 - 06:36 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Especially considering that her job -- her reason for being -- was to protect it...

Gail

Sunday, June 30, 2002 - 12:28 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Well here are some fire updates:

The Hayman fire is nearly contained - I haven't seen the % contained for today but Friday, is was 90% contained. Terry Barton posted bail earlier in the week - I think her husband helped her with the bail money. "Barton was released Thursday from the Jefferson County Jail on $600,000 bond. As a condition of her release, she is required to stay at a halfway house, get mental health counseling and is not allowed to leave the state or enter a forest."
She was officially fired from the forestry service. Where I live, it is really hazy and smokey. I think this must be from the fires in Arizona. The smoke is worse now then it was with the Hayman fire.


Did anyone else hear about this? That huge Arizona fire was started by a part time firefighter for the Bureau of Indian Affairs.


By ALISA BLACKWOOD
.c The Associated Press

SHOW LOW, Ariz. (June 30) - A Bureau of Indian Affairs employee was charged Sunday with starting one of two wildfires that merged to became the largest in Arizona's history and destroyed more than 400 homes.

Leonard Grigg, 29, was also charged with starting a second fire on the same day, but that fire was extinguished.

``You're being charged with intentionally setting fire to timber, underbrush or grass on or about June 18,'' U.S. Magistrate Stephen Verkamp told Grigg during his initial court appearance Sunday in Flagstaff.

``I'm sorry for what I did,'' said a tired-looking Grigg, whose hands and feet were shackled.

Verkamp cut him off, saying he shouldn't make any admission of guilt at the appearance.

The judge said an attorney would be appointed for Grigg and a set a preliminary hearing for Wednesday. Grigg is being held in the Coconino County Jail.

Grigg, a resident of the Fort Apache Indian Reservation, is a part-time worker for the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The Arizona Republic, citing a federal source it didn't identify, reported on its Web site Saturday that the man was a firefighter. However, it wasn't clear from the court hearing precisely what Grigg does there.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Vincent Kirby declined to discuss the case pending a news conference scheduled later in the day.

If convicted of both counts, Grigg could face 10 years in prison and be fined $500,000.

The fire Grigg is accused of starting broke out June 18 just north of the reservation town of Cibecue.

It exploded up steep terrain, threatened the town of Show Low and overran two towns just to the west, then merged with a smaller fire that had been accidentally started by a hiker signaling for help.

Together, the fires burned 452,000 acres of forest in the mountains of eastern Arizona, destroyed at least 423 homes and forced 30,000 people to evacuate nine communities.

On Sunday, the flames were still raging out of control on the fire's western edge and firefighters were working to keep them from bursting out of steep canyons and into the 600 homes of Forest Lakes, about 40 miles west of Show Low.

In Show Low, residents were back in their homes for the first time since June 22.

About 25,000 residents were allowed to return to the area Saturday after firefighters were able to hold the blaze to within a half-mile of Show Low's edge. The town of 7,700 was untouched, but in nearby communities, dozens of homes had been burned and blacked by the flames.

As residents poured back into the area, they found a patchwork of burned homes around the communities of Pinedale, Pinetop-Lakeside and Hon-Dah.

``I just kept praying and I knew it was going to be all right,'' said Mary Capuozzo of Pinetop-Lakeside.

In nearby Linden, residents were still kept from the more heavily damaged subdivision of Timberland Acres, a square mile that had been dotted with log cabins, trailers and ranch-style homes.

Residents of areas farther west of Show Low, including Heber-Overgaard, where more than 200 homes burned, were still under orders to stay out, among 3,500 to 4,000 people still kept from their homes.

In other developments:

Thousands of people fled the South Dakota gambling town of Deadwood because of a wildfire that was 30 percent contained Sunday morning. Two homes and six other buildings were destroyed in the town of 1,380 residents.

Several grass fires flared up in North Dakota, including a 20,000-acre blaze that burned about 30 buildings and dozens of vehicles in Shields, a town of 15 residents, authorities said.

Fire crews in Colorado extended their containment lines around a more than 71,000-acre wildfire north of Durango. It was 40 percent contained but still threatened 152 homes. The flames had destroyed 56 houses.

On the Net:

Arizona fire: http://www.fs.fed.us/r3/news/rodeo-fire

National Interagency Fire Center: http://www.nifc.gov


06/30/02 13:59 EDT


We don't need terrorists from other countries; we seem to be breeding plenty of them right here in the USA. :(

Cudos to the officials doing the investigations on these fires and finding suspects.

Gail

Sunday, June 30, 2002 - 03:58 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
This is disgusting!

By ALISA BLACKWOOD
.c The Associated Press

SHOW LOW, Ariz. (June 30) - A massive wildfire that has destroyed more than 400 homes in the mountains of eastern Arizona was sparked in part by a contract firefighter who hoped to make money fighting the flames, prosecutors said Sunday.

Leonard Gregg, 29, worked part-time as a firefighter for the Bureau of Indian Affairs and was one of the first people called to fight the blaze. According to a statement filed in federal court by a BIA investigator, Gregg said he set the fire so he could get work on a fire crew.

``This fire was started with a profit motive behind it,'' U.S. Attorney Paul Charlton said Sunday.

At a hearing in federal court in Flagstaff on Sunday, a tired-looking Gregg said, ``I'm sorry for what I did.''

But U.S. Magistrate Stephen Verkamp cut him off, saying he shouldn't make any admission of guilt at the hearing.

Gregg was arrested Saturday in connection with two fires set June 18 near the Fort Apache Indian Reservation town of Cibeque. One fire was put out, but the other exploded up steep terrain and quickly spread, threatening the town of Show Low and overrunning two smaller communities just to the west.

Faerygdds

Sunday, June 30, 2002 - 07:56 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
OK... I've HAD IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WHAT IN THE WORLD IS GOING ON IN THE COSMOS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A forestry service person.....

a firefighter......

Is there some kind of wierd cosmic thing happening with the stars and planets or something??? What on Earth is making the otherwise GOOD people turn SO wrong???????