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US firefighters hoping for rain
11/07/2007 08:49 - (SA)
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| Firefighters watch the progress of a blaze in Nevada - one of many fires burning across seven US states. (David B. Parker, Reno Gazette-Journal, AP) |
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Marcus Wohlsen
San Francisco - Clouds rolled across eastern California late on Tuesday, giving firefighters hope for moisture to help them battle huge wildfires in the parched Sierra foothills, officials said.
But the weather front also carried a threat of wind and lightning that could spread flames and start new fires.
Wildfires burned in at least seven states across the West, much of which is tinder-dry from a heat wave. Firefighters braced for triple-digit temperatures, lightning storms and gusty winds in many areas.
"It's hotter than hell, and it's smokier than hell," said Hoss Strode, who runs a hotel and restaurant in Wagontire, Oregon.
A series of fires on 12 140 hectares north of Wagontire threatened at least 30 homes on Tuesday, shut down much of a national forest and slowed traffic on a US highway across the centre of Oregon.
Biggest wildfire in Utah's history
Lower temperatures and lighter wind in Northern California had allowed crews to make significant progress toward taming a 14 164-hectare fire in the Inyo National Forest. The state's largest blaze, sparked by lightning on Friday, was 80% contained on Tuesday after destroying six homes and closing down trails into a popular wilderness area north of Mount Whitney.
Along the coast, firefighters lost some ground in the Los Padres National Forest as flames there fed on brush and trees unburned in four decades. The 41-square-kilometre fire in Santa Barbara County was 30% contained and threatened 22 homes and tourist cabins, fire spokesperson Joel Vela said.
Nevada's largest blaze - near Jackpot and the Idaho line - grew to about 295 square kilometres, but was 45% contained, Elko Interagency Dispatch Centre Manager Bill Roach said.
Weather was cool and cloudy on Tuesday in the southwest corner of South Dakota, where crews expected to make significant progress on a wildfire near Hot Springs that killed a homeowner and destroyed 30 houses.
Wildfires kept the Kitt Peak National Observatory in southern Arizona closed, but officials said the threat to it was significantly reduced. At least eight fires were burning across Arizona.
In central Utah, crews continued fighting the biggest wildfire in state history, which increased to 1 331 square kilometres on Tuesday, authorities said. The fire about 193km south of Salt Lake City was 10% contained.
- AP
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