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CNN Live Today

Arizona Fires Continue Consuming More Than 400,000 Acres

Aired June 27, 2002 - 14:32   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.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: In Arizona, no arrests yet in a fire that has burned more than 400,000 acres, threatening countless towns, including Show Low. And for the first time in days, though, folks are starting to see some blue skies.

Among them, CNN's Thelma Gutierrez.

But, Thelma, I thought I remember hearing a firefighter say that seeing blue sky is a bit worrisome, because then they're unable to spot the smoke as well.

THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, a few days ago, Fredricka, they had said that the smoke actually acts as a lid on a frying pan. And so when you lift that lid off, you know, it's possible that the flames will start to spread again.

But so far we do have blue skies. It seems to clear up and then it will get smoky again. Now, right now fire officials are holding a news conference. They say that the good news is that Show Low is still standing. They're reporting 5 percent containment at this point.

They say the fire lines on the northern and eastern perimeters have held. If they continue to hold through the day, the containment percentage will go up and it's possible that some of the communities out here will be spared.

The Rodeo-Chediski fire has already consumed a staggering 418,000 acres. That's larger than the size of Los Angeles. Thirty-eight hundred firefighters from all over the U.S. are here, battling what is called the largest fire ever in Arizona.

Air tankers are dropping fire retardant ahead of the fire to slow it down. So that allows the ground crews and bulldozers to go in and establish the fire lines. Firefighters have made a lot of progress on the ground by burning off dry brush that fuels the fire.

We're talking about 80 to 100 years worth of undergrowth that has made this area ripe for disaster. Forestry agencies say that this kind of fire management has to happen every so many years to keep the forests healthy. Now, so far, more than 30,000 people in this northern Arizona area have been evacuated from the Apache and Navajo counties. Many people are staying in shelters right now up here. Some have left the area. More than 400 homes so far have been lost. In the next few days, but we're not told exactly which, the families will be allowed to go back in. They will be escorted into their communities to make a visual inspection of their property. But fire officials say they will not allow them to actually go into their homes and that's because, they say, they do have some safety concerns.

Now, fire officials are also concerned about what they're calling dry lightning. They say that if the lightning hits it could possibly fuel this fire again. The good news, though, they say, is that that dry lightning is a precursor to the monsoon rainstorms. And they say those rainstorms should be hitting sometime next week.

Fredricka, back to you.

WHITFIELD: Of course, that would be welcomed. But, Thelma, about those people who get a chance to survey their own homes, how will they be transported in? Will they be escorted in or allowed to just go on their own?

GUTIERREZ: Yes, that's a good question, Fredricka. The fire officials say that they will not be allowed to just drive in on their own. They will come in with some kind of official who will escort them in, perhaps in vans. They'll be able to drive by, make a visual inspection of the home. And then they'll be ushered right back out again.

And the sheriff's officials have said that they will not open any of the communities back up until they are 100 percent convinced that these areas are safe and that they will not have to evacuate the areas again.

WHITFIELD: All right, Thelma Gutierrez, thank you very much, from Show Low.

The Arizona blaze is just one of 19 major fires burning in 10 states. And one group with the huge task of keeping track of all of them is in Boise, Idaho. And CNN's Jeff Flock is there, keeping a watch on how they're able to manage so many fires at one time -- Jeff.

JEFF FLOCK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, it's a big job. But you know, Thelma Gutierrez brought up a really interesting point, and that is about the potential for rain coming into Arizona. We asked the folks here at the National Interagency Fire Center to take a look at that. Of course, they were already looking at that.

The man who was in charge of the weather operation here is Rick Ochoa. And you have a scenario whereby you think it could help this fire in Arizona, which is still burning pretty hot.

RICK OCHOA, NAT'L INTERAGENCY FIRE CTR.: That's exactly right. In the month of June, you can see, we've had basically a dry, southwesterly flow through the southwest, with this upper high started in Mexico. In July, this upper high moves up here to the four corners.

And we're going to start bringing in some moisture. So around the Fourth of July weekend, we're looking for some improvement in Arizona and New Mexico, with higher humidities and better chance of rain.

FLOCK: So you get rain. But I'm looking on your map here, and I'm also seeing these little things. I think that means lightning, right?

OCHOA: That's exactly right. The monsoon is both a blessing and a curse. It's a blessing for Arizona and New Mexico, but it's a curse for other places because they get the lightning.

FLOCK: You keep a good watch on lightning. I'm going to ask you, if you would, to go ahead and show me the lightning, and -- are we able to do real time lightning, or the last six hours or so?

OCHOA: The last four hours, you can see we are getting some lightning strikes here, particularly in western Colorado. And that's not good news.

FLOCK: So even now, we have to watch closely. I don't know if he's able to get a better shot of this, but you can see them popping up there, as you've got this through on the animation. And everywhere we see a lightning strike, there's a potential, with this intense dryness that's out there, to set a fire.

OCHOA: That's exactly right. And we have a big fire down near Durango. This new lightning is developing a little further north from Durango.

FLOCK: And we understand that just overnight, something like 176 fires -- and of course, most of those are struck out quickly -- but the ones that don't get away from us?

OCHOA: That's exactly right. I think today we're going to see more than 176 with this new lightning shaking up here. So hopefully we'll catch most of them again.

FLOCK: OK, so a little of bit good news and maybe a little bit of bad news. Knocking out what you already got, but maybe more to come.

OCHOA: That's exactly right.

FLOCK: I'll let you go back to doing that. Rick, I appreciate the insight in that.

So, a two-edged sword, perhaps, is what Mother Nature has in store, as early, they're saying here, Fredricka, as July Fourth. That's the latest from the National Interagency Fire Center here in Boise. Back to you.

WHITFIELD: All right, thank you very much, Jeff.

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