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Arizona Wildfire Continues to Grow
Aired June 23, 2003 - 14:17 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.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Now to affiliate reporter Suzanne Bissett of station KTVK. She has got more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUZANNE BISSETT, KTVK CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): One by one helicopters and air tankers disappeared into the dense forest working overhead to try and douse the flames below, while on the ground over 800 firefighters, including 22 hotshot crews, worked around the clock to strengthen the fire lines.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are getting an awful lot of heavy winds at night on the mountain. And so, it's really making the situation up there extremely difficult for us.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've still got a long ways to go. It's only 5 percent containment, and we've got a lot of fire on this mountain to deal with. Some of it is beneficial fire at the lower elevations, but we've still got a lot of fire up on top here that can be catastrophic.
BISSETT: And as every hour goes by, the Aspen fire continues to grow, slowly moving towards the north and the area of Oracle.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What we've seen every day is about a mile- and-a-half to two miles northward movement each day. By the reckoning of the model, the fire should be in Oracle today. It should have been there sooner than that.
BISSETT: Today, we get another look at the town of Summerhaven, as pictures confirm many homes and businesses, like cabins and (UNINTELLIGIBLE), are no longer standing. One cabin proudly flying the American flag remains untouched and in pristine condition, but just a couple of yards down the street their neighbors aren't so lucky. Everything is gone.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's sad when a community has to go like that with the drought that we're in right now. You know, there's nothing we can do about that number. Pray for rain.
BISSETT: But rain isn't in the forecast, and firefighters are going to have to be patient in order to win this battle against Mother Nature.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've got a long ways to go. No monsoons in sight. This fire is going to actually have to get a lot bigger. Probably at the lower elevations we're going to have to encompass a lot more ground before we get this thing put out. (END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Once again, that report from our CNN affiliate KTVK.
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 23, 2003 - 14:17 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Now to affiliate reporter Suzanne Bissett of station KTVK. She has got more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUZANNE BISSETT, KTVK CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): One by one helicopters and air tankers disappeared into the dense forest working overhead to try and douse the flames below, while on the ground over 800 firefighters, including 22 hotshot crews, worked around the clock to strengthen the fire lines.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are getting an awful lot of heavy winds at night on the mountain. And so, it's really making the situation up there extremely difficult for us.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've still got a long ways to go. It's only 5 percent containment, and we've got a lot of fire on this mountain to deal with. Some of it is beneficial fire at the lower elevations, but we've still got a lot of fire up on top here that can be catastrophic.
BISSETT: And as every hour goes by, the Aspen fire continues to grow, slowly moving towards the north and the area of Oracle.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What we've seen every day is about a mile- and-a-half to two miles northward movement each day. By the reckoning of the model, the fire should be in Oracle today. It should have been there sooner than that.
BISSETT: Today, we get another look at the town of Summerhaven, as pictures confirm many homes and businesses, like cabins and (UNINTELLIGIBLE), are no longer standing. One cabin proudly flying the American flag remains untouched and in pristine condition, but just a couple of yards down the street their neighbors aren't so lucky. Everything is gone.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's sad when a community has to go like that with the drought that we're in right now. You know, there's nothing we can do about that number. Pray for rain.
BISSETT: But rain isn't in the forecast, and firefighters are going to have to be patient in order to win this battle against Mother Nature.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've got a long ways to go. No monsoons in sight. This fire is going to actually have to get a lot bigger. Probably at the lower elevations we're going to have to encompass a lot more ground before we get this thing put out. (END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Once again, that report from our CNN affiliate KTVK.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
