oday: July 14, 2006 at 7:17:36 PDT
Federal team takes over wildfire near Nevada-Utah state line
ASSOCIATED PRESS
ELY, Nev. (AP) - Federal firefighters took up the battle Friday to stop a southern Nevada wildfire that forced the closure of a state park near the Utah state line.
New aerial surveys showed the Bally Fire, about 20 miles east of Caliente, covered about 850 acres and was 50 percent contained, said Chris Hanefeld, federal Bureau of Land Management spokesman in Ely. Earlier estimates put the fire at about 1,200 acres.
Beaver Dam State Park was not in immediate danger, no injuries were reported, and no structures were threatened as flames burned through grasses, sage, pinon pine and juniper trees in eastern Lincoln County, Hanefeld said.
About 150 firefighters were digging in to contain the blaze about 100 miles northeast of Las Vegas, supported by several single-engine air tankers, Hanefeld said.
The fire was sparked by a lightning strike late Tuesday about five miles southwest of the park, Hanefeld said.
http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/nevada/2006/jul/14/071410698.html