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Breaking News
Wildfire Rages in Angeles National Forest
Aired May 11, 2002 - 17:25 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.
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN ANCHOR: Fire is burning in the Angeles national forest. Captain Brian Jordan of the Los Angeles County Fire Department joins us right now on the telephone. Captain, what's the size of this fire now?
CAPT. BRIAN JORDAN, LOS ANGELES COUNTY FIRE DEPT.: This is a good fire, it's 750 to 1,000 acres. It was 50 acres at 10:30 a.m. Right now, it's growing rapidly. This particular helicopter you see is a sky crane which has a 2,400-gallon water tank. It can actually fill its entire tank in 60 seconds.
MESERVE: Is it making much headway against this fire? I gather not if it's spread that rapidly.
JORDAN: The fire spread rapidly due to topography and the wind. This particular helicopter is an outstanding tool to use on these particular types of fires. We also have a Fire Hawk on scene which carries 1,000 gallons of water, and seven aircraft -- six wing aircraft that drop retardant on the fire.
This particular fire is burning on both sides of Bokey (ph) canyon. As a matter of fact, the key to homes not being damaged in a fire like this is proper clearance, sort of proper brush clearance around the home.
MESERVE: Do you have some buildings threatened right now?
JORDAN: Exactly, we do. We have several buildings. Some are homes, some are out homes -- or out buildings damaged or actually threatened by the fire. We have had reports that the fire has not reached any structures at the moment. We do have over 400 firefighters assigned to this particular fire.
MESERVE: Captain Brian Jordan of the Los Angeles County Fire Department, good luck.
JORDAN: Thank you.
MESERVE: Seven hundred fifty to 1,000 acres on fire.
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