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CNN Live Today

Wildfires Rage in Colorado

Aired June 10, 2002 - 10:01   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: First on CNN, the disastrous events of wildfires across Colorado. The state's governor says that all of Colorado is burning today. Flames have raced across some 7,500 acres near the resort community of Glenwood Springs. At least two dozen homes have burned in this wildfire and about 3,000 people have been forced to evacuate.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are getting ready to roll here. I can see another fire sparking up on the ridge though. Do you want any shoes or anything, baby?

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KAGAN: The Glenwood Springs fire is just one of several that has hop-scotched around the state.

CNN's Heidi Hemmat has a progress report.

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HEIDI HEMMAT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Downtown Denver's usual clear blue mile-high sky is filled with choking smoke from a fast moving wildfire 60 miles southwest of the city. The Hayman fire, as it's now called, exploded from just 300 acres Sunday morning to more than 25,000 acres by nightfall, devouring more than 500 acres per hour.

TERRY MCCANN, U.S. FOREST SERVICE: This is an unusual fire. Normally they will lay down a little bit, but this one doesn't seem to have been doing that and that's attributable to the weather conditions.

HEMMAT: Further west, near the town of Glenwood Springs, firefighters are battling a fire that has so far consumed 7,000 acres, destroyed more than two dozen homes, and forced the evacuation of thousands of people.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Came out here, looked over my deck, and that ridge right there? Totally in flames.

HEMMAT: Controlling the coal seam fire, which has been burning underground for the past 100 years, is now one of the nation's top priorities. But state and federal resources are stretched to the limit by a wildfire season that started early this year, in a state starving for rain.

Now, Coloradoans can only hope for a change in the weather. A change forecasters predict won't happen for at least several days.

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HEMMAT: And there is more hot and dry weather predicted for the rest of the week, no rain in sight, but we are told that slightly cooler temperatures today could help firefighters quite a bit. Reporting live from Glenwood Springs, Colorado -- back to you Daryn.

KAGAN: Heidi, as I understand it, this fire is still about 40 miles away from Denver, but there is a lot of smoke and soot hanging over Denver today.

HEIDI: That is a separate fire. That is another fire, but yes, that one is about 40 to 50 miles away from Denver. It is causing quite a bit of haze throughout the state. Really everywhere you go it smells heavily like smoke. This one is really affecting the foot hills.

KAGAN: Got it. Heidi Hemmat, reporting to us from Glenwood Springs.

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