Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Saturday Morning News

Firefighters Battle Wildfire Out West

Aired June 08, 2002 - 07:14   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: Out West this morning, firefighters are battling a raging wildfire that's burned thousands of acres and forced hundreds of people from their homes.

John Huff (ph) from our affiliate KCBS has more on the fast- moving wildfire.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN HUFF, REPORTER, KCBS (voice-over): Green Valley, a community surrounded by mountains, is now nearly circled by fire. The getaway from city life is now a staging ground for a major attack on wildfire.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ten seventy-five, Green Valley protection group...

HUFF: Seventy-five fire trucks are on scene, 15 strike teams have surrounded homes nearest the fire.

Firefighters aimed flare guns at the dry brush. By setting these backfires, crews hope to divert the wildfire from this community's 400 homes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As we look at it burn, we're taking little fingers of the canyons and start fire at the bottom, control, firing out, burning back up, so that we can kind of try to control the fire.

HUFF: From this vantage point, Captain David Plusinsky (ph) pointed out the path of the fire as it moved along the ridge of Mount Pluto. He says it could still make an easy beeline into Green Valley.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One of our big concerns is as it rounds the corner of the mountain, moving fast into the valley and obviously igniting a lot of that ground fuels the high tress on the valley floor.

HUFF: Late this afternoon, firefighters continued to keep an eye on the valley, calling in Skytrain (ph) helicopters to hit at any hot spots.

A shift in wind could send firefighters scrambling to protect a community that hasn't seen wildfire this close in more than a dozen years. (END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Wow, more than a dozen years.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com