Posted on 06/22/2006 8:33:14 AM PDT by Knitting A Conundrum
Wendell, ID -- A grass fire near Wendell was definitely human-caused, according to the Bureau of Land Management.
The Highway 46 fire burned 8700 acres north of Wendell. The BLM is still investigating just how the fire started.
The BLM says it is seeing an increase in human-caused fires, and the agency is asking people to be especially careful as temperatures rise this weekend.
Here are a few things to remember:
*Don't drive or park on dry grass.
*Make sure trailers don't drag chains on the roadway.
*Never leave fires unattended.
The BLM says you will be held responsible for fire suppression expenses and damages, if you cause a wildfire.
http://www.fox12news.com/Global/story.asp?S=5068108
I see.
Glad to find this thread - I had missed it. Now, off to read the posts!
FORT GARLAND - Helped by cooler temperatures and higher humidity, firefighters tried to expand their containment lines around an 11,800-acre wildfire in southern Colorado Thursday.
Residents of 300 homes were still awaiting word on when they could return, and U.S. 160, a major thoroughfare through the area, remained closed for a fourth day.
The fire, burning in drought-stressed grasslands and forests about 150 miles south of Denver, was 30 percent contained.
The same weather that was helping keep the flames in check also kept the highway closed, fire information officer Steve Segin said.
Fire managers don't want to reopen the road until they can light backfires to burn off nearby vegetation that could ignite should the wildfire return that way. But the weather was too damp to keep a backfire burning, Segin said.
"We're still going to try to do that, but we're going to have to wait a day and a half or two days," Segin said. "We're desperately trying to do that to get the highway open."
No houses have been lost. Many of the residences under evacuation orders are second homes and about 70 were unoccupied when the fire broke out, authorities said.
Citing dangerously dry conditions, Gov. Bill Owens issued an order Wednesday banning open burning and fireworks on all state-owned land and urged local officials to do the same. He also ordered the Colorado National Guard to prepare four helicopters for firefighting duty in case they are needed.
"The current hot, dry conditions increase the potential for a major fire every day," Owens said.
Crews statewide scrambled to contain at least 20 small fires ignited by hundreds of lightning strikes from afternoon thunderstorms, said Larry Helmerick of the Rocky Mountain Area Coordination Center.
A heavy air tanker helped crews battle a fire about six miles southwest of Sedalia and 26 miles south of Denver that grew to several acres in a few hours, Helmerick said.
Near New Castle, about 130 miles west of Denver, a wildfire of unknown origin scorched between 100 and 125 acres and threatened homes and several natural gas wells, Burning Mountains Fire Chief Brit McLin said.
The fire was about 50 percent contained by late Wednesday and no structures were damaged.
"It started out tiny, tiny and just exploded," said Jackie Gray, who lives across the river from where the fire started.
In western Colorado, a 1,660-acre wildfire started by a car wreck Tuesday was 5 percent contained. The fire was burning in juniper, oak and ponderosa pine in the Manti-La Sal National Forest, about 225 miles southwest of Denver near the Utah border.
No structures were in danger, but officials ordered about 10 vacation cabins around Buckeye Reservoir evacuated. Firefighting helicopters were using the area as a base, and crews wanted to keep traffic at a minimum on the narrow road leading to the reservoir, fire information officer Barbara Bassler said.
If the fire did encroach on the area, getting residents out quickly could be difficult, she said.
About 80 ground firefighters and 10 smoke jumpers were assigned to the fire Thursday, along with five fire engines.
Calm winds and temperatures in the 70s and 80s Thursday were expected to help crews get control of the fire, she said.
In Teller County about 60 miles south of Denver, a 44-acre fire in ponderosa pines and grass was about 75 percent contained Thursday. Residents from three evacuated homes were allowed back Wednesday.
http://www.summitdaily.com/article/20060622/NEWS/106220069
Top photo just incredibly haunting. Thanks for posting.
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