Rockies ablaze � Forests burn out of control
Duncan Campbell in Los Angeles
Monday August 7, 2000
Thousands of troops have been deployed across the western United States as
hundreds of wildfires yesterday burned out of control, apparently impervious to
bombardments by flying water tankers attempting to halt the blaze.
President Bill Clinton is due to visit areas stricken by what has been described
as the worst outbreak of forest fires in half a century. The government is
spending $15m a day (about �10m) to support 20,000 civilian and military
firefighters from 46 states and Canada.
The national interagency fire centre (NIFC) in Boise, Idaho, reported yesterday
that there were now more than 70 large fires engulfing more than 750,000 acres in
11 states, notably Montana, California, Colorado, Nevada, Idaho and Wyoming.
Officials are alarmed that the blazes have come earlier than the usual fire season
and that they are proving more difficult to contain. Some of the fires are thought
to be so well established that they will only be extinguished by the arrival of
snow in October or November.
"The northern Rockies is the hottest place in the country at the moment," said
Lynn Pisano-Pedigo of the NIFC yesterday. She cited "dry lightning" as one of the
main causes of the latest outbreak.
The weather conditions that produce dry lightning are expected to continue for
several weeks - a combination of high temperatures, low humidity and rainless
thunderstorms.
Temperatures have also been at record highs in many areas. Weather officials
report "triple digit" temperatures in central California, making the land even
more susceptible to the blazes.
Hamilton in Montana is at the centre of the main blazes and yesterday residents
were warned to remain indoors because of the thick smoke engulfing the area.
More than 300 homes have been evacuated so far, and a further 300 were expected to
be evacuated by late last night.
A total of 16 large fires were raging in the state, covering 135,000 acres. In
Nevada, a helicopter carrying a firefighting crew crashed near Elko, killing one
member and injuring three others.
In Colorado, the Mesa Verde national park was having to deal with a blaze that
threatened the park's research centre and museum. More than 400 firefighters were
trying to save the threatened parts of the forest, which is a popular holiday
place, aided by helicopters and seven air tankers flying in to drop water on the
blaze.
In California, the US forest service reported that there were more than 100
wildfires blazing and that some were in areas of brush that have not burned in
more than 100 years. Two hundred people were evacuated from Jackson, Wyoming,
three days ago and have still not been able to return to their homes.
Troops are being trained as temporary firefighters. More than 500 soldiers were
dispatched from Fort Hood in Texas yesterday after training, to join 500 other
soldiers and 500 marines fighting the fires in Idaho. A further 500 were sent to
Montana to back up a beleaguered and exhausted fire crew.
The head of the US forest service, Mike Dombeck, said yesterday that the situation
was now so serious that Canadian firefighting crews were having to be brought in
to help.
Since the start of this year, there have been about 62,000 wildfires across the
US. They have engulfed 3.76m acres of forest, almost double the 10-year average.
One of the reasons for this dramatic increase has been that people are going
deeper and deeper into forested areas in the search for seclusion. Wherever there
are humans, there is the risk of fires - usually started accidentally, from
cigarette ends and barbecues, but sometimes lit deliberately.
It is now relatively common for people to start fires and then call the fire
service and give themselves a heroic role in fighting the blazes.
However, while it would make ecological sense to stop people living in such areas,
there would be a political price to pay in restricting residential areas.
Marines have been using various techniques to try to contain the blazes, ranging
from bombing the fires from above with a mixture of slurry and water, to fighting
fire with fire - burning swaths of undergrowth themselves to create firebreaks.
But unless weather patterns change, they appear to be fighting a losing battle.
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