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CNN Live Today

Reinforcements On Way to Sweeping Wildfire in Colorado

Aired April 25, 2002 - 10:02   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Up first this hour on CNN, a fight to save some homes, reinforcements on the way to a sweeping wildfire in Colorado. The blaze more than doubled in size yesterday. It now covers some 2,400 acres.

Our Rusty Dornin is in Bailey, Colorado. This is a town that was evacuated by the approaching flames -- Rusty, good morning to you.

RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Daryn, most of the 2,000 people that were forced to evacuate yesterday were allowed to return to their homes overnight, but with the caution that they may have to run for their lives again. Apparently the winds were so erratic, driving the blazes near the town, that the sheriff's deputies were driving through the neighborhoods with their bullhorns blaring, telling people to get out. But those people were allowed to return home, because the winds did die down overnight.

Now, of course, the firefighters want to get in overnight. They tried to hit the hot spots and get in there, but they are concerned about the flames coming up again around noon today, when the winds are expected to be about 20 or 30 miles an hour.

Now, there are about 250 firefighters on the fire yesterday; another 200 are supposed to arrive today. This engine here is from Montrose, Colorado. They are waiting to be assigned to see where they will be going to fight the fire.

Now, the problem with this fire has been very erratic winds, and also the fact that there have just been not enough crews to call out, that most folks are not ready for the fire season yet. They are not ready to be called out on the lines. It is really early -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Rusty, a couple questions for you. First of all, you say most folks not being ready. I understand there is already a shortage of firefighters.

DORNIN: There is. I mean, the thing is, Daryn, 20 years I have been covering wild land fires in the west. This is the earliest I have been out covering a fire like this. Most of the hot shots and hand crews that are hired for the summer, they don't start until around May. A lot of them are still training.

So they weren't really ready for a fire like this. There are hot shot crews that are from Arizona, from Fort Apache, and that sort of thing, and then they have called in people from Colorado. But apparently they had to even call in a crew from Illinois, from as far away as there, because there just weren't the people available right now.

KAGAN: And you mentioned Arizona. I think what we are looking at in Bailey is just a little snapshot of what much of the west is afraid is coming their way this summer, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, a lot of western states, afraid of the very dry conditions out there.

DORNIN: They are very concerned. This is just a signpost of things to come, Daryn. There has been a drought here in Colorado and throughout much of the west. Again the fuel is here, the brush is very, very dry. Apparently, the humidity was only like 4 percent yesterday, which is very bad when you get the winds kicking up like that and what they call the fuel load, which of course is the brush, trees and that sort of thing, are just ready to just be ignited like that. And it's only April.

I mean, this morning when we came out here, it was 25 degrees, and they are worried about a wild land fire here, so it's very unusual -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Yes. Rusty Dornin in Bailey, Colorado -- thank you.

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