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CNN Live At Daybreak

Look at Efforts to Save Town of Show Low

Aired June 25, 2002 - 06:04   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: The severity of the wildfire in eastern Arizona has prompted President Bush to change his travel plans and visit the area today.

CNN's Eric Philips reports on efforts to save the town of Show Low.

ERIC PHILIPS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning. When President Bush visits the area today, he'll get a chance to see for himself the biggest blaze in Arizona history. Meanwhile, firefighters say they are making slow progress on fighting this fire.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PHILIPS (voice-over): The fire, which has consumed 500 square miles, is now one-half mile away from the town of Show Low. Officials say fire lines and controlled burns were able to slow the fire, but not stop it completely.

JIM PAXON, U.S. FOREST SERVICE: It kind of tried to flare up, and it went back down, and it flared up. And finally, they went back up and there was another line, another dozer line, and it burned it out again, and it burned pretty clean.

PHILIPS: As the fire inches closer to the town of Show Low, crews are preparing more homes for the possibility that they could face the flames. When President Bush visits the area today, he'll get an aerial view of the massive fire before visiting with evacuees and firefighters. He is also expected to announce that the Rodeo-Chediski fire has been declared a national disaster, and that FEMA will make $20 million available to firefighting efforts immediately.

Thirty thousand people are evacuated, many staying at area shelters. Yesterday, a cause for celebration as one of the evacuated families had a baby, something to take the evacuees' mind off their current situation, but the uncertainty of their situation is never far from their minds.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I keep laying here thinking of stuff that I had forgotten. You know, things that I didn't get that I'd love to have one more chance to go back and grab things just in case.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILIPS: When President Bush -- I'm sorry. I'm going to start that -- cut that tag again. In three...

COSTELLO: Boy, we sure apologize for that. We do.

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