Fires Continue to Burn in Western United States
STEPHEN FRAZIER, CNN ANCHOR: Now to the Western United States, ravaged by dozens of wildfires. They could use some wet weather now, but it's not likely to happen for several more days. Hot, dry conditions are helping to spread dozens of big wildfires burning across 10 Western states. The latest numbers are staggering. More than 26 000 firefighters on the frontlines, more than 800,000 acres now scorched. One of the worst hot spots is the tourist town of Leavenworth, Washington. CNN's Lilian Kim is there and has the latest.</s>LILIAN KIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A thick layer of smoke hovers over the town of Leavenworth, Washington, a Cascade Mountain tourist village that's only a few miles away from an active fire.</s>RUTH JACKSON, TOURIST: It's more hazier than I expected. I didn't think it would quite be that much. I knew it would be some, but it's like a cloud of, you know, a cloud over the town.</s>KIM: Although tourists continue to flock to the Bavarian-themed town, 68 homes have been evacuated. As for other home owners, they're ready to go at the moment's notice.</s>TERRY KUCH, LEAVENWORTH RESIDENT: Just throw some pictures in, you know, in our photo albums, and that's about it, and everything else we are going to leave behind.</s>KIM: So far, flames have blackened 6,500 acres near Leavenworth, one of eight major fires burning in drought-stricken Washington state. As helicopters fight the fire from the air, dousing any hot spots, thousands of firefighters on the ground are working around-the-clock in homes of containing the blaze. With such steep and rugged terrain, fire crews say it could take a while.</s>BETTY HIGGINS, U.S. FOREST SERVICE: Can't get a douser in this, so mostly it's hand-lined, and that's hard work on our firefighters. It's dry, it's hot. And so, you have got some health issues that we are concerned with, and of course the weather is always something that we are watching. With all these different fronts moving in, we have to keep a really close eye on that to make sure that the firefighters don't get caught off guard.</s>KIM (on camera): There is possibly some good news. Rain is in the forecast for the coming days, which should be a big help for firefighters. Lilian Kim, CNN, Leavenworth, Washington.</s>FRAZIER: Some major wildfires are also burning next door to Washington, in the state of Idaho. One of them is along the Idaho- Wyoming border. Several homes there have been evacuated, at least one structure now has already been destroyed. Other fires are burning in southwestern Idaho, and joining us now from Boise to talk about those is Mark Struble, with the National Interagency Fire Center. Mr. Struble, thank you for joining us.</s>MARK STRUBLE, NATIONAL INTERAGENCY FIRE CENTER: Thank you, Stephen, for calling.</s>FRAZIER: We hear that there a lot of new fires today?</s>STRUBLE: Actually, in the last 24 hours, our reports show 11 large new fires across the U.S. That totals up to 34 active large fires that are going. Those fires have burned about 380,000 acres over the last three or four days, and that's roughly 545 square miles, to put that in perspective.</s>FRAZIER: All lightning started?</s>STRUBLE: Can't speak to that, but most of them, yes, are lightning. As your reported indicated earlier, they are hoping for rain in the Pacific Northwest. One of the things we are very concerned about the next days, though, if we get any rainstorms at all, it does usually bring lightning along with it, so that's mixed blessing. We are particularly interested in watching western and eastern Nevada over the next couple of days, because lightning is definitely what caused the problems in starting all the wildfires there last week.</s>FRAZIER: Brad Huffines was telling us yesterday about storms that bring lightning all the way to the ground, but the rain evaporates before it gets down to the flames.</s>STRUBLE: That's exactly correct. I mean, we could really use the kind of rain that they get down in the Southeastern U.S, but that usually does not materialize here in the west in the summer.</s>FRAZIER: Also, talking to one of your counterparts yesterday. He was putting word out to other states and other agencies for heavy equipment, especially those larger helicopters. Any response to that today?</s>STRUBLE: I don't have the information on that. I do know that the military is assisting us with large fixed wing aircraft. We have got at least four of the big C-130s here that are active right now, behind our center here, working on fires north of Boise.</s>FRAZIER: What do they do?</s>STRUBLE: Well, those are called mobile airborne firefighting systems, and they are large pallets that slide in the back of these big C-130s that the Air National Guard units have, and they can dump about 3,000 gallons of retardant on a fire in one shot, so they are definitely helping our existing resources.</s>FRAZIER: Last time we looked too, there were little microsystems that were helping firefighters. There was some cool air coming off the Columbia River. Are you benefiting from anything like that today?</s>STRUBLE: Well, the reports do show that in the Pacific Northwest that it is improved, that it's even cooler here in Boise, we can definitely feel the difference. But as you probably know, out here in the west, if you don't like the weather, just wait about 24 hours, because it will definitely change, and the longer-range forecast is not quite as promising.</s>FRAZIER: There was a little bit of snow in that forecast, we hope that makes its way to you, and we're grateful, Mark Struble, for your update on conditions at this hour. Thank you.</s>STRUBLE: Thanks, Stephen.</s>FRAZIER: Talk to you later on.