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CNN Sunday Morning
Officials Make Headway Against Hayman Fire
Aired June 23, 2002 - 08:05 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.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Meanwhile in Colorado, fire officials say they're making headway in the worst wildfire to ever hit that state. They are giving Mother Nature a lot of credit for their progress.
CNN's Mark Potter joining us now live from Lake George with the latest from there -- good morning, Mark.
MARK POTTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Miles.
And you're exactly right, after an unexpected break in the weather yesterday, firefighters gained more ground on the Hayman fire and they are feeling a lot more confident. Sixty-seven percent of this fire is now contained and most importantly that is mostly on the eastern side near the populated area. The eastern side is pretty well buttoned up now and firefighters are very happy about that.
The acreage is holding steady at 137,000 acres burned. They have not lost a home here since early in the week, that number holding firm at 115. In fact, some residents are going back to their homes today in two counties.
Now, yesterday morning they did get a scare. The winds came up to 40 miles an hour and they thought that they would have a tough time and would lose some ground. But the clouds came over, the humidity went up and the winds went down, so they were able to have a third good day.
Now, today they are expecting drier and windier conditions and firefighters warn that this fire is not out. They say it is still dangerous, but they are doing a lot to surround this fire now and they are feeling much better now about their chances -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: CNN's Mark Potter joining us from Colorado with the latest from there.
They're feeling better in Colorado, Jacqui?
JACQUI JERAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A little bit, yes. Actually even better in Arizona, I think, for the next couple of days...
O'BRIEN: Really?
JERAS: ... in terms of the winds. The winds have been dying down quite a bit because our trough has pushed on through. But drier conditions are moving in and hotter conditions are moving in. But right now wind playing such a factor that this is really a big deal that they're calming down this much.
O'BRIEN: And we talked briefly about it yesterday, I guess the fact that two fires have merged, it kind of creates its own momentum, doesn't it?
JERAS: Yes, absolutely it can, and those flames are leaping up. With the winds calming down, we're going to see more plume dominated fires, so the winds won't be varying, I don't think, back and forth as much. But they'll be coming up and we'll see a lot of plume dominated fires and a lot of smoke moving back into the atmosphere.
I want to show you our weather map here that shows you where the weather system is that is affecting these fifes at this time. The trough is forecast this afternoon to be moving through eastern parts of New Mexico and into eastern Colorado. So ahead of that trough, we're going to see a little bit of moisture and the potential for thunderstorms, possibly dry thunderstorms, as well, since humidity levels are very low. But since it is well on off to the east now, high pressure building into the Four Corners region. Winds will be lessening significantly here. So we'll watch for calmer conditions the next several days across much of Arizona, but hotter conditions will be on the way, as well.
And the best news that I can tell you is that by the middle of the week, it looks like there's a chance, maybe a 30, 40 percent chance, which is pretty significant in this area, for some rainfall. So that is some very good news there.
Off to the east we're seeing some very heavy rain into the upper Midwest, also into the Southeast across Florida and into the deep South, rainfall will be heavy, one to two inches at times today, and very cloudy conditions. Airport delays in Atlanta at this hour because of the low clouds and fog. So if you have travel plans in the Southeast, make sure you call ahead this morning.
O'BRIEN: So here's the plan.
JERAS: OK.
O'BRIEN: Hydraulics, big hydraulics, tilt the entire lower 48 that way, water...
JERAS: Yes, rain far down into the Southwest.
O'BRIEN: Anyway, just distribution issues.
JERAS: That's a thought.
O'BRIEN: Yes, all right.
Jacqui, we'll see you in a little bit.
JERAS: OK. TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
