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Letter to the editor

Fires rage as heat wave fuels conditions in West

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published July 8, 2007

SALT LAKE CITY - A scorching heat wave coupled with tinder-dry conditions sent wildfires running amok throughout the West on Saturday, forcing authorities to evacuate homes and close highways and wilderness areas.

A 160, 000-acre wildfire about 120 miles south of Salt Lake City jumped a freeway Saturday, forcing the closure of Interstate 15 for a 100-mile stretch through central Utah, fire officials said. The fire was triggered by lightning Friday afternoon and was pushed north and west Saturday by high winds, Color County Fire Information Officer LaCee Bartholomew said.

Lightning also sparked about a dozen fires that have charred about 55 square miles in remote northern Nevada, where temperatures in Elko soared near 100 degrees Saturday.

In California, more than 400 firefighters battled a blaze that has consumed 17, 000 acres of the 2-million-acre Inyo National Forest east of Yosemite National Park, forest spokeswoman Nancy Upham said Saturday. Firefighters were evacuating hikers and backpackers.

Wildfires also burned in Southern California, western Colorado, northern Arizona, eastern Oregon and northeastern Washington.

The fires in the West have been fueled by an oppressive heat wave that has been felt throughout the region for days but has now eased a bit in places. Still, forecasters predicted little relief for a region where many cities have baked in triple-digit temperatures.

In Idaho, residents of the Wood River Valley and Boise were warned they could see electrical failures in the middle of the heat wave. A wildfire damaged dozens of power poles on Friday and caused one to fall on a substation and destroy a transformer, said Jeff Beaman, a spokesman for Idaho Power.

In Montana, it was even too hot to fish.

Yellowstone National Park and state fisheries managers asked anglers starting Saturday not to fish on some Montana rivers between noon and 6 p.m. because of drought and scorching weather. Water temperatures in some lower-elevation rivers have reached 73 degrees in recent days, conditions that can stress and even kill fish, the National Park Service said Friday.

[Last modified July 8, 2007, 01:30:55]