West hits top level of fire danger

Wednesday, Aug. 15, 2001 | 11:28 a.m.

SUN WIRE REPORTS

RUCH, Ore. -- The West was declared at the highest level of fire danger today after federal agencies met to assess the battle against wildfires that have shut down roads, forced evacuations and threatened homes as they burn across hundreds of thousands of acres of sagebrush, grass and timber.

"We have gone to Level Five for fire danger nationally," said David Widmark at the Northwest Interagency Coordination Center in Portland, which handles regional fire control.

The decision was made after this morning's meeting at the National Interagency Coordination Center in Boise, Idaho, Widmark said.

The national center's website says Level Five "means several geographic areas are managing major wildland fires, are competing for resources, and have the potential to exhaust all agency fire resources. PL5 is the level when the U.S. military is often called in to supplement firefighting crews."

Tuesday was a long, hard day for 18,000 firefighters who braved hellish conditions while battling 41 major fires in eight Western states.

More than 315,000 acres were ablaze Tuesday, mostly on vast tracts of federal land in California, Nevada and Oregon, and firefighters from as far away as Alaska and Pennsylvania were being called to the firelines.

Firefighters have surrounded Nevada's largest wildland fire and were making progress today against scores of other blazes that have blackened about 200,000 acres since last week.

"This seems to be ground zero right now for wildfires," Bureau of Land Management fire information officer Mark Struble said.

Crews claimed victory over the 82,000-acre Sheep fire 17 miles north of Battle Mountain and turned their attention toward the nearby Coyote fire, which was 25 percent contained at 11,000 acres 25 miles north of Carlin. The cost of battling that fire already is estimated at $1.2 million.

Three fires being called the Clear Creek Complex have scorched 22,760 acres 11 miles south of Winnemucca and continue to thwart crews, who have achieved only 15 percent containment.

The hamlet of Midas remains threatened by the Buffalo complex, which has blackened 30,000 acres near the historic mining town with only 10 percent containment. An evacuation plan is in place, but hasn't been needed so far.

On the California-Nevada line, the Fish fire was expected to be contained by evening at 21,280 acres. It has burned five outbuildings and has cost $2.49 million to conquer.

In Nevada, the Spaulding fire 25 miles northeast of Winnemucca is estimated at 15,000 acres and 15 percent containment.

The 3,500-acre Golden Eagle blaze 60 miles west of Winnemucca is 60 percent contained, the 3,000-acre Starr Valley fire 30 miles northeast of Elko is fully contained and the Ranch fire 50 miles northeast of Winnemucca is contained at 20,000 acres.

Twenty-two members of Nevada's Army National Guard were activated to assist with the fires in eastern Nevada, according to spokeswoman Lisa Kent. She said they headed for Elko with a Chinook helicopter with a 2,000-gallon bucket and with 2 1/2-ton trucks to transport fire crews from base camp to the various blazes, KOLO-TV in Reno reported.

In the past week, Nevada's burned acreage more than doubled to 373,575 acres.

Throughout the West, most fires were sparked by lightning strikes and fueled by bone-dry timber, brush and grass. Adding to the problem were perfect fire conditions: high temperatures, low humidity and stiff winds.

"We're not getting much help from anywhere," said George Lennon of the Northwest Fire Coordination Center in Portland, Ore. "There's very little moisture, and the moisture we are getting contributes to the thunderstorms that bring the dry lightning that starts these fires."

Firefighters are taking two steps back for every step forward. They extinguished a dozen blazes on Monday, only to see 18 new ones Tuesday and the looming threat of nasty electrical storms that could spark new fires.

In California, the biggest problem was a 2,341-acre fire at Emigrant Gap on the western slope of the Sierra about 70 miles northeast of Sacramento.

Although relatively small, the blaze burned right up to I-80 Tuesday, forcing the California Highway Patrol to shut the freeway down for the second time in as many days.

At one point several wood posts supporting guardrails were burning, and small fires erupted on the grassy median. Firefighters scrambled to keep the fire from jumping the freeway but lost that battle at 2:40 p.m.

With traffic backing up, many motorists backtracked to Auburn and took scenic Highway 49, which was soon packed. Most seemed resigned to the inconvenience and went with the flow.

"We're on vacation and trying to make the best of it," said Max Olson of Idaho, who was traveling with his wife, April. "We might as well enjoy Lake Tahoe."

Truckers weren't so cheerful. Many found Highway 49, a winding two-lane highway, too narrow and congested to navigate safely.

"Two times I tried to go on 49 but I came back," said Hamit Tiftikci, who was hauling lettuce from Salinas to Toronto. "I'm scared to go that way. That's why I'm stuck here."

With little else to do, dozens of truckers parked their rigs at the side of the road or in nearby parking lots to sit things out. Some, like Don Curry, were stranded for more than a day.

"I get paid by the mile," Curry, of Lewiston, Idaho, said as he sat in the cab of a rig loaded with lumber bound for Pennsylvania. "I've lost a few hundred dollars sitting here."

While truckers fumed, 1,115 firefighters braved searing heat and rugged terrain as they battled the blaze. Helicopters dropped bucket after bucket of bright-red flame retardant on the fire, coating the highway with a slimy goo.

The firefighters contained 40 percent of the fire by early last night and hope to have it surrounded by Thursday.

Meanwhile, the largest of the West's fires raged in Ravendale (Lassen County), about 30 miles northeast of Susanville. The 62,900-acre blaze was about 55 percent contained last night, and authorities said they hope to conquer it by Friday.

"The wind has let up," said fire spokesman Jeff Fontana. "We're making progress strengthening our fire lines. As things have calmed down we've been able to make some really good progress."

Elsewhere in California Tuesday:

Two major fires continued roaring in Modoc National Forest. The bigger of the two, dubbed the Blue Complex because of its proximity to Blue Lake, has torched 30,000 acres of timber and brush about 13 miles east of Likely (Lassen County).

The San Francisco Chronicle and the Associated Press

contributed to this story.