U.S.

Tonto Forest Fire Still Burning

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

April 29, 2000 / 12:28 PM EDT / CBS

Hundreds of firefighters are making slow but steady progress in their battle against a fire that has ripped through over 6,300 acres of the Tonto National Forest.

There are 445 people fighting the Arizona fire with the aid of two spotting planes, two tankers dropping fire retardant and six helicopters dropping huge buckets of water from nearby Lake Roosevelt.

"Sleeping in a bed is just a memory," says firefighter Brian Bostwick. "Back, arms, shoulders, feet, everything's sore," he said. "But there's more to do."

The fire started Wednesday afternoon in the Sierra Ancha Mountains northeast of Phoenix.

Forest Service officials believe that someone started the fire and urged anyone who was in the area at the time to come forward as a potential witness.

Since the Coon Creek fire broke out Wednesday, the firefighters have been working at night to cut firelines on the western side of the fire. They have also been setting controlled backfires to burn off underbrush and other fuel to limit the spread of the blaze.

It is backbreaking work amid steep canyons with loose rocks, heavy brush and the threat of flames overrunning them.

Four firefighters were injured Sunday when they were hit by a falling load of water. Two were knocked down and received minor injuries. The others were taken to Globe-Miami Hospital, where one was treated for bruised ribs and the other for a bruised elbow.

Until winds finally died down on Monday, the crews were unable to work ahead of the flames. The fire was moving so quickly toward the northeast that they could only attempt to dig firelines along the south and west sides.

"We're starting to get in front of the column," says firefighter Adam Kohley. "But you can't let your guard down, ever, until you're out of there."

The Coon Creek blaze is the first large-scale wildfire in Arizona this year, according to the U.S. Forest Service. But it is not the biggest in the Southwest this year.

In New Mexico in February, two 40,000 plus acre fires were reported. Nationwide so far, more than 700,000 acres have burned, according to the National Fire Information Center.

But last August marked a devastating fire season in Nevada's Great Basin region. More than 1.4 million acres were burned in less than a week, the center reported.

The fire grew quickly, as winds gusting up to 40 miles pushed it through bone-dry chaparral, pine trees, and debris that was four- to six-feet deep in spots. That advance did not slow until Sunday evening, when the winds died down.

So far, the fire has threatened about a dozen structures, including a YMCA camp, the Murphy Ranch and several houses.

The fire has cut a black swath of destruction through the Sierra Ancha wilderness portion of the forest. Where it was hottest, the ground was blackened with soot, and all that remained were charred trunks of dead pines and burning stumps.