1,100-Acre Fire In Zion National Park
A lightning-sparked fire in Utah's Zion National Park spread out of control to 1,100 acres Tuesday, but rain helped firefighters hold the line on a 2,000-acre forest fire in Montana and two other major fires in Wyoming. Gusty winds spread a third Wyoming fire over 400 acres of the Bridger-Teton National Forest and forced the evacuation of a campground and summer cabins on Freemont Lake, a half mile from the blaze. A fire that scorched 1,130 acres in and around the Hiawatha National Forest in Michigan was linked to a vehicle exhaust pipe. Hundreds of small grass and brush fires were reported over the July 4 weekend, some caused by fireworks, in various parts of the country. ``The Fourth of July holiday really contributed to the problem,'' said Capt. Ray Wood, regional ranger for the New York Department of Environmental Conservation in the Hudson Valley. ``Fireworks were touching off fires all over the place. Last night it sounded like every fire alarm in the area was going off.'' In California, a fireworks-caused blaze that swept over 2,200 acres near Yosemite National Park was declared contained at dawn Tuesday. ``We have evidence confirming that it was a bottle rocket,'' said Mary Hale, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Forestry. By Monday, $384,000 had been spent to combat the fire, she said. Authorities will try to recover that money, said Pat Kaunert of the U.S. Forest Service. More than 670 firefighters from federal, state and local agencies cut trails in the rugged terrain by hand and used airplanes to drop fire retardant, officials said. Kentucky's Division of Forestry reported 85 fires burned 1,267 acres in the first four days of July, compared to an average of 18 fires and 165 acres for the whole month, spokesman Richard Green said. About 40 weekend timber fires were attributed to fireworks. But Dwight Barnett, a spokesman for the Tennessee Division of Forestry, said there were 26 wildland fires on the Fourth of July, which burned just 113 acres. ``We were very relieved to get through the weekend in such good shape,'' he said, citing partly the care taken by people playing with fireworks. In Utah, Chief Ranger Bob Andrew said the Zion blaze was ignited by lightning June 19. It was allowed to burn in a small area, but on Sunday wind to 60 mph spread the flames, and the fire nearly doubled in size from early Tuesday to midday. No injuries or property damage was reported. The Montana fire burned in the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness Area in the south-central part of the state. Weekend rain helped keep it from spreading outside the wilderness boundary, said fire information Officer Jo Barnier in Billings. And a helicopter was dropping water on the fire Tuesday afternoon. The fire has been burning since at least June 19 in the Custer National Forest. Phil Jaquith, Beartooth District ranger for the forest, said Forest Service policy is to allow wilderness fires to burn unless they threaten trails or structures or are about to spread outside the wilderness boundary. A day after rain beat down the flames of a 1,650-acre fire in the Shoshone National Forest in northwest Wyoming, firefighters were able to reinforce fire lines around the blaze in the absence of strong winds. The lightning-sparked fire has been burning for almost two weeks. Rain Monday night also calmed three fires in Yellowstone National Park in the state's northwest corner. Park spokeswoman Amy Vanderbilt said the ``fan fire'' in the park's northwest corner had held at 1,800 acres, while two other fires in the southern section of the park continued to burn over about 90 acres. Because all three fires are in the backcountry no efforts were being made to douse the flames, she said. The evacuation in the Bridger-Teton forest was a precaution and the fire started to die down somewhat as temperatures dropped at nighttime, forest spokesman Fred Kingwill said. The blaze apparently was sparked by fireworks over the holiday weekend, Kingwill said. In Michigan, authorities concluded a hot exhaust pipe or exhaust particles triggered the Upper Peninsula fire, said Mary Mumford, spokeswoman for Hiawatha National Forest. The fire was declared under control Monday. Firefighters also battled two smaller fires that broke out on the Upper Peninsula Tuesday, burning 220 acres, Department of Natural Resources spokesman Bob Heyd said. In California, about 190 firefighters battled a wildfire that burned 350 acres of brush Tuesday across steep terrain in an area of Los Padres National Forest untouched by fire in 64 years, said Earl Clayton of the U.S. Forest Service. Rising humidity and cooler temperatures were checking the fire's spread, he said. There were no injuries in the fire, which was reported Tuesday afternoon.
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