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CNN Live Today

Two Fires in Arizona Merge Into One Massive Blaze

Aired June 24, 2002 - 13:53   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.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Turning now to blazing Arizona. Two wildfires in the eastern part of that state are now one. And the mammoth 300,000-acre blaze is threatening the town of Show Low, east of Phoenix.

Our Charles Molineaux is live from Show Low with the latest -- Charles.

CHARLES MOLINEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi Kyra.

Yes, you know, these towering columns of smoke we've been able to see from the fire are now no longer visible because at this point it's all right on top of us. Show Low is full of smoke.

And here at camp X-Ray where the firefighters have got their camp going, ashes are now falling down all around us, stark evidence of just how close this fire now is.

Want another view? Check out how this one looks like from space. Satellite images are zeroing in on it. It may look like an amoeba, but the Forest Service is calling this a dragon, a monster.

Yesterday the Rodeo and Chediski fires came together into one huge configuration. The good news is that the merging actually happened during a period when wind and temperatures were low, so we did not get the nightmare scenario of a highly charged, high-energy fire coming together with massive momentum pushing it northward. Nonetheless, there's a lot of concern about what is going to be happening here in Show Low.

Firefighters are now preparing to come together with city firefighters to -- instead of dealing with the forest fire, deal with an in-town fire.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIM PAXON, U.S. FOREST SERVICE: We're scrambling trying to get ready for a fire to come into Show Low. We think that's inevitable. But crews are out there preparing those western-most homes that are against the forest edge: Removing fuels, clearing litter, moving firewood piles, making it so that a house next to the forest edge would have the greatest chance of survival.

(END VIDEO CLIP) MOLINEAUX: Concern is that even though the firefighters have managed to create a six-mile fire-break west of town, in a strategically very important canyon, there are entire flanks of this town that are still very much exposed, and the concern is that eventually this fire is going to find its way into Show Low, barring some big change in the weather; and at this point that's not looking very likely.

The winds are blowing towards the east, as you can see by fact that the smoke is being swept in towards us -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Charles thank you.

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