Posted on 05/16/2002 9:24:48 AM PDT by HiJinx
Edited on 05/07/2004 5:20:54 PM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]
Prescott firefighters work the fireline of the "Indian" fire south of Prescott on Wednesday.
PRESCOTT - Fire crews face a make-or-break window of time this morning as they struggle to keep a wildfire from destroying more houses in a populated area south of here.
(Excerpt) Read more at azcentral.com ...
Sorry, folks here on the border are pretty much convinced that our transient foot traffic is responsible for at least two of our last 4 large fires...
Prayers for those of you down there.
FMCDH!
I got a phone message from my parents (who live in downtown Prescott) this morning saying that they are OK, but still understandably nervous. They live not too far from the Mountain Club, which is one of the evacuated areas.
Could the Forest Service be seriously incompetent?
Why is everyone so accepting of these totally needless tragedies?
It's time we DEMAND adequate protection as quaranteed in our constitution.
After all.....the USA defends millions around the globe, but leaves its own citizens to face disaster without any help.
We now have 3-4 times the acreage burn in forest fires each year as we had 30-40 years ago. The experts say it will get worse in the next 5 years.
Even Bruce Babbit, liberal dem from Flagstaff and CLinton's secretary of interior, said publicly that government policy encourages forest fires.
It is a perverted world we live in when government policy encourages forest fires in order to help the environment because we all know that forest fires are extremely damaging to the environment. It is also perverted that the news media doesn't publicize the terrible problems and why they occur. The rich liberals have a priority of making things dysfunctional in order to destroy jobs and beat out people down. The environment means nothing to them by comparison to this real goal. Forest policies in the west prove this point.
I can't tell you how grateful I am that you posted this. I had to get to work this a.m. and was very surprised and happy that you posted this. God bless you.
No campfires have been allowed in this area for some months, but people just don't listen. This fire is suspected to have been started by some one living in the Indian campground. The conditions were right for it to just spread very fast.
The first fire crew out included the husband of my best friend. He is one of the most dedicated, smart, and hard working people I know. I want to thank him and all the firemen who have come to our aid yesterday and today. Thank You Dan Morgan and God bless you.
May 17, 2002 Posted: 8:00 AM EDT (1200 GMT)
PRESCOTT, Arizona (AP) -- A wind-whipped fire that charred 1,000 acres and burned five homes was 45 percent contained, but still threatened up to 2,000 homes on the edge of this mile-high city, fire officials said.
Firefighters struggled through the day Thursday to establish the fire line, concentrating particularly on keeping the flames from slipping through a roughly quarter-mile gap.
About 150 firefighters worked through the night to hold the fire, and 1,150 firefighters were expected to attack the fire Friday, said Lori Cook, a spokeswoman for the Bureau of Land Management.
"We want to get in there and get it contained as soon as possible," she said.
The winds that officials feared would drive the flames during the afternoon never materialized.
"We are just so so lucky that this didn't get out of control," said Mayor Rowle Simmons, who toured the area where the homes burned Thursday with Gov. Jane Hull. "We hope we stay lucky."
About 1,500 people had been evacuated since the fire was spotted Wednesday in the forest near Prescott, a city of 33,000 about 90 miles north of Phoenix. The cause was not immediately known.
Officials said some people who had left their homes voluntarily were being allowed to return. The mandatory evacuees were not yet allowed back home.
The fire was one of several in Arizona this week.
A blaze west of the San Francisco Peaks near Flagstaff was reported 95 percent contained at 60 acres by Thursday. An 840-acre wildfire in the Coconino National Forest was 60 percent contained. No homes were threatened.
A wildfire scorched 10,000 acres just south of the U.S.-Mexico border before being contained, authorities said. The fire was located 30 miles east of Agua Prieta, Sonora, which borders Douglas, said Rich Kvale, a spokesman for the Coronado National Forest.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.