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CNN Live At Daybreak

Firefighters Fight to Save Property from Colorado Wildfires

Aired June 11, 2002 - 05:21   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.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: A wildfire racing towards Denver has slowed down a bit thanks to a shift in the wind and that has eased the threat of a major evacuation in the southwestern metro area. Early yesterday, the fire doubled to more than 75,000 acres and flames spread to within five miles of residential neighborhoods. Officials are now prepared to evacuate as many as 40,000 people. Authorities say the fire was started Saturday by an illegal campfire in the Pike National Forest. Officials warn the worst may not be over.

There are at least eight wildfires burning in Colorado, the largest is the Hayman blaze where firefighters are hard at work trying to save the property.

Will Jones of our Denver affiliate KDVR has that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILL JONES, KDVR-TV REPORTER (voice-over): The Hayman fire continues to rage through Colorado.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's moving rapidly with the winds. We're looking at up to a mile an hour and sometimes during the burning period we're going two miles in one hour.

JONES: While this building burns, others like the Horse Street Cafe and Saloon have fallen, but the firefight continues, a fight to save property.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We had some fire that was rapidly approaching the structure we were defending. We were able to defend the structure, and it is still standing.

(on camera): Part of the strategy here is setting backfires, like this one, to get rid of all the fuel on that hill before the fire spreads to that house.

(voice-over): They say they'll keep hosing down hills and building fire lines until their lives are on the line.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A lot of times it's letting it burn to you, OK. And if you can't control it, you get out.

JONES: And with a fire this big and this unpredictable, a lot of people have had to or will have to get out of this fire's way. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know we may go into an evacuation to the north and the wind could shift and go to the east so we're just trying to predict where the fire is going to go and how long it will take it to get there.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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