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Wildfire threatens powerful telescope; Blaze moves closer to homes

Two wildfires burning in the southeast part of the state moved closer to cabins and continued to threaten an observatory that houses the $120 million Large Binocular Telescope -- one of the world's most powerful optical instruments.

Smoke and flames draw near to the Large Binocular Telescope atop Mt. Graham on Saturday.

One of the fires on mountainous terrain grew to 6,179 acres Sunday and had burned to within less than a mile southeast of the $200 million-plus Mount Graham International Observatory.

"It's threatened, but I think it's defendable," said Duane Archuleta, an operations chief for the fire management team. "It's going to take some work of course."

That lightning-started wildfire and a nearby 6,130-acre blaze prompted the evacuation of the observatory and 85 cabins on the mountain Friday. The observatory has a 200-foot defensible space designed to help crews protect the property.

By Sunday, the flames were about three miles away from the communities of Turkey Flat and Columbine and state officials issued a health advisory warning residents of nearby towns about the smoke. No structures were threatened, said Jennifer Plyler, a fire spokeswoman.

No structures were immediately threatened, said Jennifer Plyler, a fire spokeswoman.

"They have some time," she said. "It's not bumping up against structures like the observatory."

About 1,000 firefighters aided by 10 helicopters, 12 bulldozers and two C-130 military air tankers were fighting the fire. No serious injuries were reported but one firefighter was hospitalized for treatment of heat exhaustion.

The fires were a few miles apart and were expected to join in the next couple of days, said Paul Summerfelt, a deputy incident commander.

Plyler said fire management teams hoped to have the fires fully contained by July 27, and were aiming at keeping them from growing beyond a combined 50,000 acres.

Elsewhere in Arizona, the threat posed to the city of Payson by a 79,500-acre wildfire was lessened after crews strengthened protection lines near the forest community, officials said Sunday. The fire, which started June 24, was 10 percent contained.

A firebreak on the Willow fire's northeastern flank was built about two miles from Payson, a city of about 14,000 people some 70 miles northeast of Phoenix.

"We feel confident it will hold," U.S. Forest Service spokesman Jim Payne said.

In Alaska, an evacuation order remained in effect Sunday for 277 homes and businesses still threatened by a blaze near Fairbanks that has spread over 306,000 acres, up from 280,000 the day before.

Most people displaced by the fire were urged to stay away Sunday, though state troopers let some homeowners return to retrieve possessions or check on property, fire officials said.

The fire, started June 13 by lightning, is about 30 miles north of Fairbanks.

Posted by thinkum at July 5, 2004 12:28 PM