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American Morning

Four Firefighters Die in Washington Forest Fire

Aired July 11, 2001 - 09:08   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: Four Washington state firefighters are dead this morning. They were killed while battling a wildfire in the Cascades, near the town of Twisp.

Reporter Kevin Oliver of our affiliate KREM has the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KEVIN OLIVER, KREM REPORTER: It's a difficult morning here at base camp not just because firefighters are getting up to go back out to the front line but because they're also now mourning the death of their colleagues.

(voice-over): The only road into the deadly fire is now blocked off as the Forest Service works to recover the four bodies. A single crew was trapped yesterday afternoon as the Andrews Creek fire exploded from 100 acres to 4,000 in just a couple of hours. Four firefighters died inside their fire shelters. One made it out with severe burns to be airlifted to a burn center in Seattle and four more were taken to hospitals for treatment. For everyone else, the tragedy hits hard.

GREG THAYER, U.S. FOREST SERVICE: Crews are taking the news pretty tough. It's firefighters, a close organization of people and when one of their own fall, it's like losing a family member.

OLIVER: Firefighters are now strategizing, trying to figure out how to put out this new blaze. They're also looking into its cause. And now, they're planning memorials for the four fallen firefighters.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: That was reporter Kevin Oliver of our affiliate KREM.

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