Wildfire Threatens Homes Near Reno, Nev.
Pastor Dale Morgan
Wildfire Threatens Homes Near Reno, Nev.*
Saturday August 12, 2006 5:31 AM
By TOM GARDNER
Associated Press Writer
VERDI, Nev. (AP) - A wind-driven brush fire in the Sierra foothills
exploded to more than 8 square miles Friday, threatening two
subdivisions just west of Reno.
Nearly 60 homes were threatened by the fire, which broke out near the
small community of Verdi and was burning just east of the California
line, Reno fire department spokesman Steve Frady said. About 800 homes
were in the area.
The fire was largely burning on U.S. Forest Service land, but edged
across Reno city lines. Gusts up to 25 mph drove the flames in different
directions.
Two people were caught in the fire area after it broke out Friday
afternoon and one apparently received a leg injury, Frady said.
Firefighters led both to safety.
At least seven small air tankers were on the scene along with
helicopters, 36 engines and a force of some 200 firefighters on the
ground. Sightseers clogging the narrow roads in the area were hampering
firefighters, Frady said.
Elsewhere, firefighters from Australia and New Zealand arrived in Idaho
Friday to help battle wind-whipped wildfires across dozens of square miles.
The National Interagency Fire Center in Boise was tracking 64 active
large fires across the western U.S. on Friday that had burned more than
600 square miles. Idaho and Oregon each had 10 large fires, followed by
Montana with eight and California with seven.
The fire center used a long-standing partnership agreement with
Australia and New Zealand to bring in nearly 50 foreign reinforcements.
``They come with the skills we need at a time when we need them,'' said
Tom Frey, international program manager at the nation's firefighting
headquarters. It's the first time since 2003 that the U.S. has needed to
augment its force of more than 24,000 federal firefighters with foreign
allies.
The first wave of foreign fire specialists included 15 helicopter
managers, 26 midlevel fireline managers and five liaison officers to
help integrate the foreign forces into fire management teams.
``They use a command system very similar to ours and their training and
fitness requirements are much like ours,'' Frey said.
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On the Net:
National Fire Map: http://activefiremaps.fs.fed.us
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Associated Press writers Jesse Harlan Alderman in Tipanuk, Idaho, and
Christopher Smith in Boise, Idaho, contributed to this report.