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American Morning

Blaze Near Denver Has Scorched Nearly 90,000 Acres

Aired June 12, 2002 - 09:03   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.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Up front this morning, Colorado on fire. Wildfires are still blazing out of control and containment is not even on the horizon. A blaze near Denver that has scorched nearly 90,000 acres is now the largest wildfire in Colorado history. As the wind- whipped flames burned toward the city's outlying suburbs, evacuations have begun and thousands more may soon follow.

Lori Abbott is among those ready to run. She joins us this morning, along with her daughter Kaeli -- good morning to both of you. Thanks for being with us this morning.

LORI ABBOTT, LARKSPUR, COLORADO RESIDENT: Good morning.

ZAHN: So are you expecting to get the call that you're going to have to get out of there?

ABBOTT: We're hoping not to get the call. But at least we have that opportunity to get the call. And it's pretty scary.

ZAHN: Yeah, well I can't imagine. But, at this point, how far is your house from the front line of this fire?

ABBOTT: Probably about four miles. It's very smoky.

ZAHN: Yeah, you've been getting that for days, right?

ABBOTT: Yes, for days.

ZAHN: And Kaeli, how concerned are you about this fast- approaching fire?

KAELI ABBOTT, LORI'S DAUGHTER: I'm pretty concerned about it. But like since it's going the other way it's not as bad anymore.

ZAHN: Now Lori, if you have to go, you have a lot of things you got to get in order here. You have four kids, you have a husband, you have a pet rat. Have you decided what you're going to take with you if you're forced to evacuate?

L. ABBOTT: Well actually I have four cars that are pretty full right now. And I'm taking lots of pictures. Not a whole lot of furniture, just pretty much all my memorabilia from my family, from my mom that I lost about five years ago. Just family things, because I don't want to lose them. ZAHN: And how will you know that it's time to get out? Are you expecting that officials will tell you, or is there some sort of signal that you're supposed to look for?

L. ABBOTT: Well we got a reverse 911 call just to prepare us for the evacuation. So that came on both my phone lines. So I'm pretty sure that we'll probably get the same type of phone call telling us to get out. But they also have checkpoints set up all over Perry Park, so the cops are checking each house, seeing who is staying, and they know who to evacuate when that time comes.

ZAHN: Do you know where you will stay if you have to get out?

L. ABBOTT: Well with a family the size of mine, I don't know who I can intrude on, other than my best friend, who would take me. She lives probably 30 miles, into Parker. We might have to just drop the pets off there and go to a hotel, just so we can have a place to sleep.

ZAHN: A couple dozen people have lost their homes so far. How frightening is that prospect that if mother nature doesn't help out, you could have some real problems on your hand?

L. ABBOTT: That scares me to death. I'm very scared of that. I can't even imagine the area I live without all the trees and the homes, because it's beautiful. And it would be absolutely devastating if any of us lost our homes.

ZAHN: Kaeli, how scared are kids there? You get this reverse 911 call, you're told that you need to get ready to get out when officials give you that signal. Is this frightening for you?

K. ABBOTT: Yeah, I think the kids are more afraid because like they have a lot more friends around themselves and they don't want to lose their home. So I've talked to a lot of my friends, and like my best friend, like she's really scared about it too.

ZAHN: Well I wish your family a great deal of luck. I know it's hard to live with the uncertainty of what your family may face. And we're delighted that you have someone willing to take in your large family if you're forced to go. Good luck to you, Lori Abbott and Kaeli as well.

L. ABBOTT: Thank you.

K. ABBOTT: Thank you.

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