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Are the HAARPies at it again? Hegelian land-grab? [EMAIL PROTECTED] In the West, Hot Weather Fuels Wildfires in 8 States July 24, 2002 By NICK MADIGAN LOS ANGELES, July 23 - With conditions relentlessly dry and the weather growing hotter, firefighters today battled 34 significant fires in eight Western states, the most dramatic of which creeped menacingly toward the giant, centuries-old trees of Sequoia National Forest. Across the nation, about 350 new wildfires were reported on Monday, although only four of those escaped initial attacks by firefighters to become larger fires. "The West is really where we're seeing the most of the large fire activity," said Janelle Smith, a spokeswoman for the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho, which is tracking 14 fires in Oregon alone. In Kernville, Calif., about 150 miles north of here, an out-of-control blaze threatened the Sequoia National Forest, where the largest redwood trees in existence have, for the most part, survived countless fires over the years. About 1,000 firefighters have been summoned to the blaze officials are calling the McNalley Fire, which has burned almost 38,000 acres of wildland and smaller trees. If uncontained, the blaze could be headed for about 200 structures in and near the forest. Winds today began blowing the flames away from the Trail of a Hundred Giants, where the tallest and oldest trees stand about two miles from the front of the fire, officials said. The blaze was only 20 percent contained and remained highly unpredictable. The Trail of a Hundred Giants was not in immediate danger, a spokeswoman said. A spokesman for the United States Forest Service, Jim Paxon, said that anything could happen with conditions so volatile. "If fire does get in the Trail of a Hundred Giants, we won't be putting firefighters in there to try to stop it," The Associated Press reported Mr. Paxon as saying. "It will be a climax of 300- or 400-foot flames." Firefighters were carefully watching the fire's proximity to the forest's Packsaddle and Freeman Creek groves, where some underbrush had been removed before the current blaze. "Fire is going to go through those other groves if it gets there," Mr. Paxon said, "but because they've had some treatment, the fire may be on the ground and not destroy those groves." About 400 Boy Scouts were evacuated from a camp near the forest, as were several hundred people in nearby towns. At least 10 structures in the area were destroyed. In south-central Oregon, the 34,400-acre Winter Fire joined in one area with the 63,012 Tool Box Fire, and each was about 40 percent contained today, said Chris Friend, a spokesman for the Oregon Department of Forestry. The Winter Fire "is still giving us fits now and then," said Mr. Friend, who described how a team of firefighters were moved out of an area of dead and highly flammable trees on Monday when a downdraught from a thunderstorm "scattered the wind in all directions." The Monument Fire in Oregon grew today to 24,700 acres, and was threatening about 75 homes, Ms. Smith said. The blaze, near Unity, a small town in northeast Oregon, was nowhere near containment, she said. Also in Oregon, the Eyerly Fire was being managed under one command, near Camp Sherman. The resulting 23,777-acre fire was 75 percent contained today. In Idaho and Utah, firefighters were chasing about 25 new fires. "At this point, they're initial attacks - in other words, the first response," Ms. Smith said. "That's when they try to contain or put it out in the first attack. That's been our strategy. When things have been as extreme as they are, we try to catch those fires with initial attacks before they become large." This year, 3.7 million acres of wildland have burned in the United States; the average for the year to date is normally 1.7 million acres. "Keep in mind that it's just been an extreme fire season, and we're only approaching the peak of season about now," Ms. Smith said. "What really sets this year apart is that really extreme drought conditions existed in many states. The fire behavior that they were seeing was a month earlier than what they usually see." In Colorado, a light rain helped firefighters battling a 4,100-acre blaze near Rocky Mountain National Park. About 225 homes near Lyons, Colo., were evacuated and occupants of 400 to 500 more houses were told today to be ready to leave. Firefighters were concerned about predictions of wind and lightning today as they dug firebreaks around the Deer Point Fire, a 23,700-acre blaze near Lake Chelan, Wash. Evacuation warnings remained in effect for about 200 homes there and the fire was 30 percent contained. http://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/24/national/24FIRE.html?ex=1028538037&ei=1&en=04ce3edad20ffc3c HOW TO ADVERTISE --------------------------------- For information on advertising in e-mail newsletters or other creative advertising opportunities with The New York Times on the Web, please contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] or visit our online media kit at http://www.nytimes.com/adinfo For general information about NYTimes.com, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Copyright 2002 The New York Times Company <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance�not soap-boxing�please! 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