Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live At Daybreak

Mother Nature May Test Firefighters in Arizona Today With Gusty Winds

Aired June 27, 2002 - 06:31   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: Mother Nature may test firefighters in Arizona today with gusty winds, but fire crews say they are prepared to gain ground on the 410,000-acre blaze. Most of the containment has been around the town of Show Low, and that's where CNN's Eric Philips is standing by live -- good morning again, Eric.

ERIC PHILIPS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. Fire officials now giving thousands of evacuees a reason to see some light at the end of the tunnel. That's after they have spent what feels to them like an eternity in emergency shelters.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: With regards to our evacuees, we think that it's a number of days before the residents of Show Low, Pinetop and Lakeside can re-enter.

PHILIPS (voice-over): Fire officials are now saying definitively that a wall of fire will not come through Show Low. This bit of positive news comes after their announcement that efforts to quell this blaze led to 5 percent containment yesterday. All this gives hope to evacuees, who are becoming more restless by the day.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not just me, but the whole people that's been evacuated just want to start life again rather than putting it on hold.

PHILIPS: Those living west of Show Low, who lost their homes, will be escorted on a van tour of their neighborhoods either Friday or Saturday. The fingers of blame for these fires are pointing everywhere, not just at those who started the blazes. Officials say there is enough blame to go around.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think everybody that has anything to do with the management of these lands has part of the blame. You know, you can go to the Forest Service and BLM and the other land management agencies that were active in suppression. You can put some on the homeowners that don't want to see smoke, because they come up here to get away from the heat and the smog in the valley. You can put some of it to the environmentalists, who want to stop us from doing our management activities, because they disagree with us.

(END VIDEOTAPE) PHILIPS: The investigation continues into exactly who started the Rodeo fire. In fact, reward money is being offered for information leading to the arrest of that person.

We are live here in Show Low, Arizona. I am Eric Philips -- Carol, back to you in Atlanta.

COSTELLO: All right, Eric, thanks for the update -- we appreciate it.

PHILIPS: All right.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.