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Blazes force US evacuations
08/07/2007 18:58 - (SA)
Reno - A 3 237ha wildfire forced hundreds of people in the town of Winnemucca to leave their homes, one of more than a dozen blazes that charred a combined 14 000ha in northern Nevada.
The blaze was among a series that dotted the West on Saturday as a heat wave made parched terrain even drier, forcing authorities to evacuate homes and close highways and wilderness areas.
A 160km stretch of interstate 15 in central Utah was closed when a 64 751ha wildfire jumped the highway, and other fires burned in California, South Dakota, Colorado, Arizona, Idaho, Oregon and Washington.
The fire near Winnemucca, about 274km east of Reno, threatened up to eight blocks of homes and an electrical substation, said US Bureau of Land Management spokesperson Jamie Thompson.
Firefighter treated for burns
"It's right up to the south edge of town," he said. "The fire definitely poses a danger to parts of the town. It's certainly got everyone's attention."
The largest of the Nevada fires burned 93km² along the Idaho border, said Mike Brown, a spokesperson for the US Bureau of Land Management. It was 10 percent contained on Saturday, officials said.
A firefighter was treated at and released from a hospital in Twin Falls, Idaho, with burns.
Yet another Nevada fire that was started by lightning on Saturday threatened structures and led to the evacuation of campers about 48km south of Elko, officials said.
The Utah fire, about 193km south of Salt Lake City, also forced the evacuations of Cove Fort and the Blundell Geo Thermal Power Plant, where it was threatening railroad lines, bridges and several homes, said Color county fire information officer LaCee Bartholomew.
Interstate 70 was also closed in Richfield, said Utah highway patrol's Lieutenant Steve Winward.
Buildings destroyed
A 1 012ha fire forced evacuations on Sunday of at least 50 homes near Hot Springs, South Dakota. The fire grew overnight due to extreme fire behaviour and erratic winds, and some buildings were destroyed, said state officials.
In California, more than 400 firefighters battled a blaze that had consumed 6 880ha of the 810 000ha Inyo National Forest east of Yosemite National Park, said forest spokesperson Nancy Upham on Saturday.
In suthern California, a wildfire charred 2 550ha of wilderness in the Los Padres National Forest.
- AP
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