Archive for Monday, June 19, 2006
Crews expected to wrap up fire today
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High temperatures, stiff winds and dry conditions led Bureau of Land Management officials to issue a "red flag warning" for Monday. In the fire world, red flag warnings mean watch out for fire.
"It means if you do have a fire, you're going to have control problems," said Lynn Barclay, a BLM spokeswoman and a fire mitigation specialist.
Despite Monday's conditions being ripe for fire, fire crews experienced no significant flare-ups at the Thomas Fire in western Moffat County that, after a week of blazing across more than 3,000 acres, continues to die.
"Today was going to be the test considering the winds and temperatures we were experiencing this afternoon," Barclay said Monday afternoon. "But, everything held. There were no reports of flare-ups."
Teams of firefighters descended on an area near Greystone last week after lightning caused a fire that began 36 miles west of Maybell. Fire officials had the fire 100 percent contained Saturday and began releasing some of the 210 firefighters and support staff members fighting it.
A small crew remains at the fire site monitoring for hot spots.
Barclay said that officials think they will have full control of the fire by 6 p.m. today. "Controlled" fires are fully extinguished.
"They're still on schedule," she said. "There hasn't been any significant fire activity."
Barclay reiterated that the weather forecast for the next few days is expected to create dangerous fire conditions.
"People are asked to continue to be diligent with open fire of any kind," BLM officials said in a statement released this weekend.
To date, the affected fire area remains 3,347 acres. The latest cost estimates for fighting the fire -- money paid out for labor, equipment and administration -- is $800,000.
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Question of the week
Do you seek medical care from The Memorial Hospital in Craig or Yampa Valley Medical Center in Steamboat Springs?
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