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CNN Live At Daybreak

Colorado Residents Ponder Tough Evacuation Decision

Aired June 12, 2002 - 05:03   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: Imagine the decision, though. There's a chance your home will burn to the ground. Do you leave or do you stay behind, waiting for the flames until they come and then you leave. About 3,000 people have been forced to make that very decision.

Chris Vanderveen from our Denver affiliate KUSA reports on the emotional tug-of-war between saving your home and saving your life.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, it's not far at all.

CHRIS VANDERVEEN, KUSA CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In Florissant Heights, the evacuation order has come and gone.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just waiting to see what happens.

VANDERVEEN: But Mark Bibbs (ph) is not leaving, not yet.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We'll just watch it, and the plan is, is when we see flames, she leaves to go load the horses.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fire movement has been about 150 to 175 yards in the last hour.

VANDERVEEN: Just two miles away ...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do we have fire near Truman (ph) Road?

VANDERVEEN: ... the biggest, baddest fire this state has ever seen.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's perfect burning conditions. Winds coming up, very dry, super-dry fuels - couldn't get any better for fires.

VANDERVEEN: In nearby Lake George, a smoky pea soup envelops drivers, and grounds an entire army of helicopters. It's useless to fly right now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Like I said, we're just ready to go whenever we need to.

VANDERVEEN: Roger Simpson (ph) is close, but not close enough to force him to leave. Even still, he's packed, should the moment arise.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would say it's a few miles, but it's only a couple of ridges over.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: At the end of this street, you are about two miles from it.

VANDERVEEN: But more and more evacuations are coming.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Gusts to 15 ...

VANDERVEEN: ... and even still, Mark Bibbs (ph) is not leaving, not yet.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All I have to do is grab two cats and two dogs, and throw them in that truck. Everything's loaded, and we just drive away.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: What an unbelievable picture. That report from Chris Vanderveen of CNN affiliate KUSA in Denver.

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