Firefighters gaining ground on Duzak fire

Wednesday, July 6, 2005 | 9:57 a.m.

Fire officials gained ground in containing the largest wildfire in the nation, which is burning in Southern Nevada.

The Duzak fire, near the Nevada-Utah border, had burned 590,440 acres of brush, parched grasses invading desert landscapes and juniper and pinyon pine trees late Tuesday.

U.S. Forest Service fire spokesman David Chevalier said Tuesday that 551 firefighters, five fixed-wing aircraft, nine helicopters and a bulldozer expected to contain the Duzak fire by late Tuesday.

Winds remained light Tuesday and temperatures stayed in the 90s, helping fire crews battle the flames.

The Delamar fire had burned between Alamo and Caliente in Lincoln County across a 180-square-mile area.

Chevalier said firefighters descended with hand crews and air tankers to douse a 25-acre fire sparked by Monday's fireworks near St. George, Utah.

No buildings were threatened and there were no injuries reported.

The 1,200-acre Garnet fire, sparked by a man shooting a target on Saturday, was contained late Monday on Bureau of Land Management acres in northern Clark County, said Kirsten Cannon, a spokeswoman for the BLM.

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