Lightning, wildfires, heat, floods wreak havoc on US West
Pastor Dale Morgan
Lightning, wildfires, heat, floods wreak havoc on US West*
By Tom Gardner, Associated Press Writer
RENO — Fire managers worried Tuesday that lightning could spark more
wildfires in the West, where hundreds of square miles of land have been
blackened, as thunderstorms also threatened flash flooding in
burned-over areas.
A flash flood watch was in effect for parts of western Nevada and the
Sierra Nevada range, with forecasters warning of the potential for
extensive runoff in areas stripped of vegetation by the wildfire that
destroyed at least 254 homes south of Lake Tahoe and by a large blaze
southwest of Reno.
Lightning started many of Nevada's current swarm of wildfires, which
have burned some 730 square miles.
Mandatory evacuation orders remained in effect for tiny Jarbidge, Nev.,
within a mile of a blaze that had blackened more than 880 square miles
on the Idaho-Nevada line, fire information officer Bill Watt said. The
fire, which was 20% contained Tuesday, was mostly in Idaho but the most
active part was in Nevada, authorities said.
In northeastern Nevada, the Shoshone-Paiute Tribe declared a state of
emergency for the Duck Valley Indian Reservation, most of which has been
without power for six days because fires have destroyed more than 240
utility poles.
The tribe is providing ice, propane, flashlights and battery-operated
fans, and its fire department is filling bathtubs with water.
Temperatures in the region have been near 100 degrees.
Crews have been battling dozens of huge wildfires across the West,
primarily in Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, California and Utah, according to
the National Interagency Fire Center.
Tinder-dry conditions across Idaho prompted federal land managers to ban
most open burning on millions of acres of public forest and range. The
National Interagency Fire Center reported 14 large fires had burned
1,300 square miles of Idaho, more than in any other state.
Idaho Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter issued disaster emergency declarations for
five counties Monday because of the fire danger.
Fire managers worried Tuesday that dry lightning storms in parts of the
West could start more blazes, though the systems also were expected to
bring rain, the interagency center said.
"It's great to have rain, but there's always the possibility of a
downdraft and erratic winds. There's a high concern over additional
lightning strikes," said Ricardo Zuniga, a fire information officer in
Utah, where a blaze had charred more than 33 square miles and forced the
evacuation of several communities.
Fire lines along the east side of the Utah blaze held during the night,
protecting the town of Fountain Green, home to about 1,000 people about
90 miles south of Salt Lake City.
Fountain Green was not evacuated, but residents had earlier been told to
leave several tiny communities with a total of about 36 primary
residences, officials said. Residents of one of those villages, Holiday
Oaks, were allowed to return Tuesday, authorities reported. The blaze
was listed as about 20% contained.
Crews in northern California were battling about 30 lightning-sparked
fires covering 14 square miles near the Oregon state line. The fires
started July 10 and had threatened up to 550 homes near the town of
Happy Camp.
In Montana, a nearly 22-square-mile fire burning on the edge of Lewis
and Clark National Forest led to an evacuation order for 40 summer
homes. Many were unoccupied, said Lewis and Clark County Sheriff Cheryl
Liedle.