Montana Gov: Raging WildFire Is in 'Hands of God'
Pastor Dale Morgan
Montana Gov: Raging WildFire Is in 'Hands of God'*
Sunday August 5, 2007 4:16 AM
By SUSAN GALLAGHER
Associated Press Writer
HELENA, Mont. (AP) - Authorities worried about firefighters' safety on
Saturday pulled them off a fast-growing wildfire in western Montana and
told residents of about 200 homes to get out of the way.
``This fire is in the hands of God right now,'' Gov. Brian Schweitzer
said after taking a helicopter flight over the blaze, which already had
burned nearly 8 square miles since starting Friday afternoon.
Winds between 25 and 30 mph were helping to fan the blaze northeast of
Missoula, near the popular getaway spots of Seeley and Placid lakes. The
fire was volatile and could grow rapidly, jeopardizing crews, Schweitzer
said.
``We can't risk firefighters' lives,'' he said.
Residents of about 200 homes scattered around Seeley Lake and Placid
Lake to the south were ordered to evacuate, said Jamie Kirby, a fire
information officer. The governor told them to ``open the gates, turn
the livestock loose, take your pets, shut off the propane at the tank,
shut off the electricity and get out.''
There were no reports of homes burning, Kirby said. It was not known how
close the fire was to the residences, a mix of year-round and vacation
homes.
In northwestern Montana, about 26 miles north of Whitefish, authorities
ordered the evacuation of about 50 homes ahead of a fire burning in the
Flathead National Forest. The fire had burned 14,000 acres, or nearly 22
square miles, by Saturday evening.
Montana has seen dozens of fires in a wildfire season that began earlier
than usual. Major fires included one north of Helena that was last
measured at 37,000 acres, or about 58 square miles, and was projected to
grow Saturday with the help of winds.
That fire was about half a mile from a 100-kilovolt power line.
NorthWestern Energy removed vegetation near the line, sprayed its poles
with chemical fire retardant and covered the poles with protective
wrapping, said utility spokeswoman Brandy Powers.
Northwest of Los Angeles, meanwhile, fire crews braced for another
possible flare-up by a month-old forest fire that has forced hundreds of
people to flee rural cabins.
``It's not good. We expect it to run again,'' fire spokesman Pete
Nicklin said Saturday.
By Saturday evening, the fire was moving away from hundreds of rural
homes and heading into an unpopulated area of dense vegetation,
officials said
The fire in Los Padres National Forest had charred an estimated 44,400
acres - 70 square miles - by Saturday and was 60 percent contained,
little changed from Friday, fire officials said.
Flames were about four miles from the Santa Barbara County hamlet of
Paradise Road, where firefighters guarded some of the 175 threatened
homes. About 650 people evacuated the community Friday, along with
youngsters from a camp for delinquent boys.
The wildfire had been slowed for days by a weather condition that
trapped cool, moist air at ground level, but the weather changed Friday
and the blaze dashed through 6,000 acres of wilderness.
On Saturday, northeasterly wind was threatening to blow up and fan the
flames into head-high brush.
``It hasn't burned in 100 years. It's thick and heavy and it's
tinder-dry,'' Nicklin said.
The area was crowded with thousands of visitors for Santa Barbara's
annual Old Spanish Days Fiesta.
The blaze was started July 4 by sparks from equipment being used to
repair a water pipe.
A handful of homes and cabins in Michigan's Upper Peninsula were
evacuated Saturday as a precaution near a wildfire that had blackened
about 5,300 acres, said Department of Natural Resources spokeswoman Mary
Dettloff.
The fire was 30 percent contained Saturday, but fire officials were
concerned about the possibility of stiffening wind, Dettloff said. The
DNR said the fire was probably started by lightning on Thursday.
Elsewhere, flames had blackened about four square miles of remote pine
forest in southern New Jersey, authorities said. The fire, which started
Friday, wasn't contained Saturday but wasn't showing signs of spreading,
said Elaine Makatura, a spokeswoman for the state Department of
Environmental Protection. Its cause had not been determined by Saturday
night.