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CNN Sunday Morning
Fires Devastate Arizona
Aired June 22, 2003 - 07:05 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.
THOMAS ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Back here at home, the going very slow for firefighters working to get a handle on Arizona's wildfires. Fires are burning in at least three mountain communities and are just 5 percent contained. CNN's Dan Lothian reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The road that once ran through a beautiful mountain retreat now runs through smoldering ashes. A graveyard of rubble, charred cars, trucks and bicycles. News cameras were allowed into Summer Haven for the first time since the Aspen fire came roaring through destroying at least 250 structures.
Bob Zimmerman is just one resident who lost everything.
BOB ZIMMERMAN, SUMMER HAVEN RESIDENT: I think anybody who has been up there, and when they drive into the village they're going to cry. It is so sad and so forlorn.
LOTHIAN: Another nearby community of some 50 mostly vacation homes also lost a third of its buildings. A ski area was overrun, too.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We were seeing those large flames coming up this steep slope.
LOTHIAN: The fire, fanned by high winds and fueled by dry brush and Ponderosa Pine, has burned more than 6,300 acres.
LARRY HUMPHREY, INCIDENT COMMANDER: The fire is kind of continuing to do what it wants to do.
LOTHIAN: That's making it difficult for some 1,000 firefighters putting in long hours on the front lines.
They are getting support from seven water-dropping helicopters and two air tankers. Officials say progress is being made but only in small steps because of steep challenges.
HUMPHREY: Extremely rough, difficult terrain. We have dehydration issues. It is really tough to keep hydrated even though it is cooler up there.
LOTHIAN: Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano, who is has declared this a disaster area, toured the fire scene by helicopter.
GOV. JANET NAPOLITANO, ARIZONA: My vocabulary is just large enough to express what you see when you when you see it.
LOTHIAN: What sparked this wildfire is still under investigation. Authorities also don't know how long it will take to bring this blaze under control. Their best estimate, two to three weeks. An expensive effort, so far costing almost $1 million.
LOTHIAN (on camera): The fire has also impacted a communications center on the top of the mountain. At least one communications tower has been destroyed others have been damaged.
Dan Lothian, CNN, Tucson, Arizona.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired June 22, 2003 - 07:05 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THOMAS ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Back here at home, the going very slow for firefighters working to get a handle on Arizona's wildfires. Fires are burning in at least three mountain communities and are just 5 percent contained. CNN's Dan Lothian reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The road that once ran through a beautiful mountain retreat now runs through smoldering ashes. A graveyard of rubble, charred cars, trucks and bicycles. News cameras were allowed into Summer Haven for the first time since the Aspen fire came roaring through destroying at least 250 structures.
Bob Zimmerman is just one resident who lost everything.
BOB ZIMMERMAN, SUMMER HAVEN RESIDENT: I think anybody who has been up there, and when they drive into the village they're going to cry. It is so sad and so forlorn.
LOTHIAN: Another nearby community of some 50 mostly vacation homes also lost a third of its buildings. A ski area was overrun, too.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We were seeing those large flames coming up this steep slope.
LOTHIAN: The fire, fanned by high winds and fueled by dry brush and Ponderosa Pine, has burned more than 6,300 acres.
LARRY HUMPHREY, INCIDENT COMMANDER: The fire is kind of continuing to do what it wants to do.
LOTHIAN: That's making it difficult for some 1,000 firefighters putting in long hours on the front lines.
They are getting support from seven water-dropping helicopters and two air tankers. Officials say progress is being made but only in small steps because of steep challenges.
HUMPHREY: Extremely rough, difficult terrain. We have dehydration issues. It is really tough to keep hydrated even though it is cooler up there.
LOTHIAN: Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano, who is has declared this a disaster area, toured the fire scene by helicopter.
GOV. JANET NAPOLITANO, ARIZONA: My vocabulary is just large enough to express what you see when you when you see it.
LOTHIAN: What sparked this wildfire is still under investigation. Authorities also don't know how long it will take to bring this blaze under control. Their best estimate, two to three weeks. An expensive effort, so far costing almost $1 million.
LOTHIAN (on camera): The fire has also impacted a communications center on the top of the mountain. At least one communications tower has been destroyed others have been damaged.
Dan Lothian, CNN, Tucson, Arizona.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
