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CNN Live At Daybreak

Wildfire in Glacier Nat'l Park

Aired September 03, 2001 - 08:18   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 LIN, CNN ANCHOR: We're keeping our tabs on this wildfire that's burning just outside of Glacier National Park. In fact, it's now inside the park. And the problem out there, as Vince Cellini found out the last hour in an interview, is just the wind that keeps shifting.

So we're going to go to fire information officer, Bill Aney, right now. He is right outside of Glacier National Park at a fire camp.

Good morning, Bill.

BILL ANEY, FIRE INFORMATION OFFICER: Good morning. How are you?

LIN: Well, I'm doing just fine.

I'm just wondering: What is causing this violent shift in the wind speed out there that's causing firefighters so much trouble?

ANEY: You know, we just keep getting a series of cold fronts coming across the fire -- we had just three days ago, two days ago, and then another one today. And what that does is bring strong winds from the southwest and the northwest continuing to push the fire to the east and into the National Park.

LIN: All right. Well, it pushed into Glacier National Park. Some 10,000 acres are burning in the park at our last count.

What is your count?

ANEY: That is about right -- somewhere between 10,000 and 12,000 acres in the National Park. It's hard to tell right now, because we are not working directly on the front of the fire.

We're trying to do a couple of different things: one, to start attacking the fire from the rear and moving around towards the front; and also trying to get out in front where there are some structures in place and buildings and trying to do some protection on those buildings -- clearing fuel away, putting in some preliminary fire lines and that type of thing in the event that the fire does get to those buildings.

LIN: Yes. Are any campers in any danger? ANEY: No, no campers are in danger. There are some campgrounds that have been closed, both by the National Park and by the Forest Service, you know, in the immediate vicinity of the fire and included within the fire perimeter. I mean, there are portions of the park that are closed, but the Going-to-the-Sun Highway west Glacier entrance, east Glacier entrance to the national park are still open.

LIN: So what is your best hope at this point? We were hearing that this fire is likely to burn even into the wintertime. So what can you really do in the next few days?

ANEY: What we can do right now is try to figure out where the fire wants to go and make sure that any of the buildings or people in front are protected. Get the people out of the way and do some work around the buildings to protect them in case the fire does get there.

LIN: Yes, and a tough job indeed -- Bill Aney, fire information officer. As anybody who has fought fires knows fire has its own personality. There is no real way of predicting what it's going to do next.

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