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CNN Live Today

Sequoia Fire 10 Percent Contained

Aired July 26, 2002 - 10:03   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.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: We move on to California, where another around-the-clock battle is being waged across the country in California, that wildfire threatening the ancient sequoia trees.

Meanwhile, a court appearance is scheduled in the next hour for the woman accused of accidentally sparking that blaze.

Let's get the progress report on the firefighting efforts. Our James Hattori is joining us with the latest.

James -- good morning.

JAMES HATTORI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn.

Maybe you can see behind me some state inmate firefighters getting ready for another day on the fire lines. After a lot of hard work, and under favorable conditions, they have managed to draw 10 percent of a containment line around the McNalley Fire.

Now, while they concede that in some areas it's so remote and the terrain is so difficult, that they are going to lose some more acreage. They believe that they are making good progress toward getting a handle on this fire.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HATTORI (voice-over): While the McNalley Fire continues to smolder and grow, fire officials say they are making good progress under favorable weather conditions.

JIM PAXON, FIRE INFORMATION OFFICER: We are making headway. The thing to emphasize here is that nature is very much in control. And if we get -- let's say we got a thunderstorm up here and we had some downbursts, that could blow fire every direction, and we would be chasing the fire again.

HATTORI: So far, more than 58,000 acres have been blackened. Officials say significant containment could still be two or three days away. They continue to put a lot of manpower on the fire's western flank to protect towns and 11 groves of ancient sequoia trees, including these along the Trail of 100 Giants in the Sequoia National Monument.

ART GRAFFEY, SEQUOIA NATIONAL FOREST: These are some of the largest and oldest living things on the earth.

HATTORI: The sequoias face increasing risk in part, because forest managers routinely extinguish all fires, promoting growth of underbrush and smaller trees beneath the sequoias. That allows sparks from later fires to jump higher on the giant trees, where they are more susceptible to damage.

GRAFFEY: They can survive a low-intensity ground fire, but when it gets up into a crown or its leaves, that very likely could kill the tree.

HATTORI: But keeping flames away from the majestic sequoias is a high priority, and so far, firefighters have managed to do just that.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

Some encouraging news for the sequoias groves, not so encouraging for the woman who is apparently going to be accused of starting this fire. She is a 45-year-old Bakersfield resident who was transported to Fresno, California, yesterday. Today, she will appear in U.S. Federal Court. The U.S. attorney will bring charges, we understand. The charges exactly we don't know, because one of the complicating factors, Daryn, is that she claims it was all an accident; that it was a campfire that got out of control. So there is a question of intent and just how culpable she will be -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Yes, and the big effort right now, of course, to try to save those ancient and beautiful trees. James Hattori in California, thank you so much.

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