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Show World&Nation Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2009 Page 11 Crews make gains on southwestern Utah fire SALT LAKE CITY (AP) – Crews made progress on a large wildfire burning in southwestern Utah on Tuesday but another fire farther north jumped a highway, torched power poles and knocked out electricity to several communities. The Mill Flat fire, which burned three homes over the weekend, had blackened more than 17 square miles by late Tuesday afternoon, according to Kathy Jo Pollock, a spokeswoman for the firefighting team. The fire is 10 percent contained but continues to threaten about 550 homes and 58 commercial properties in the area of New Harmony. Residents in the area remain on a one-hour notice for evacuations if the fire picks up again. Local fire departments are monitoring homes and buildings in the area. Slightly cooler and calmer conditions allowed crews to make small gains Tuesday, including solidifying a fire line on the fire’s east flank, which is closest to the developed areas. Also Tuesday, two firefighters sustained minor injuries but details were not available. There are about 650 people assigned to the fire, along with four helicopters, 30 engines and two bulldozers. To the north, stiff winds fanned the Sawmill Canyon fire. Earlier in the day, fire officials estimated it had burned about 8 square miles. But Lisa Reid, a spokeswoman for the fire crew, said late Tuesday afternoon that fire south of Scipio had jumped Highway 50 and was moving quickly. Storm: State of emergency declared SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, R-Ariz., center, speaks as Sen. Richard Burr, R-NC, left, and Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., right, look on during a health care forum in Charlotte, N.C. AP photo Republican senators on the road to slow health care reform CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) – An odd couple of Republican senators have hit the road, arguing for a go-slow approach to President Barack Obama’s push to revamp health care. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and 2008 presidential nominee John McCain are headlining the GOP’s answer to the raucous town hall meetings of August in which congressional Democrats had to shout over angry constituents about health care, growing deficits and the increasing role of the federal government. Not known for working closely or particularly liking each other – the two waged a fierce fight for years over campaign finance – McConnell and McCain nonetheless have been united at three events in two days in which they’ve urged a more modest approach on Obama’s top domestic priority. In North Carolina on Tuesday, they interacted with something close to deference, unity and self-deprecation. McConnell introduced McCain as the “famous GOP senator.” McCain answered, “You mean our most famous loser.” Hardly an upbeat outlook, but on health care they have reasons to work together and try to frame Republican opposition to a comprehensive health care overhaul in thoughtful and credible terms. Start with the GOP’s drive to recover in next year’s midterm elections after the drubbing Republicans took from Obama and the Democrats in 2008. To do that, they must bring the Democrats down a notch from an effective hold on 60 Senate votes, potentially enough to kill GOP filibusters and control policy. Political recovery is an issue for McCain, too. The decorated war veteran and recognized expert on national security and campaign finance reform has largely deferred to other Republicans on health care although the Arizona lawmaker is a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. But in recent weeks, McCain has been outspoken on health care overhaul and its pricetag of $1 trillion-plus over 10 years and basing his argument on his reputation as a deficit hawk. Health care also offers McCain a chance to revise his image with millions of Americans and fill the elder statesman role embodied by his friend and former colleague, the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy. -continued from page 2 While the storm’s eye was forecast to pass west and north of the city, another 20,000 were expected to evacuate elsewhere in the peninsula. Schools, many ports and most businesses were closed. Children ran through strong gusts of wind Tuesday waving pieces of paper and trash bags under bands of intermittent rain. Forecasters expect the hurricane to leave between 5 and 10 inches of rain in Baja, but already the dry stream beds had turned into gushing torrents. Hank and Maureen Butt, from Los Gatos, California, snapped photos outside their Cab San Lucas Hotel, enjoying the driving winds. “The waves have been great,” said Maureen Butt, an intensive care nurse. “I think we’re going to be out of harm’s way as far as major damage,” her husband said. “We’re in a very good structure here.” Most tourists had already fled by Tuesday, leaving 75 percent of hotel rooms vacant. But some of those who remained came out to see the storm with avid anticipation, fighting the winds and intermittent bands of rain at the shore. Hurricane chaser Brian Osburn of Pensacola, Florida, stood on a beach in high tech gear and protective padding while holding a plasticencased, submersible Hi-definition video camera to take shots of the poundin g surge and gusts. “I think Cabo San Lucas is still in for a good blow,” said Osburn, holding his waterproof microphone into the shrieking winds. Others wandered the nowdeserted streets, some ankledeep in water, enjoying the storm. “We’re going to go, get some more liquor and go back to the room and just watch it,” said Mark Lopez, 29, a truck dispatcher from San Jose, California, as he walked near a marina with a half-dozen friends. “We’re making the most of it.” Many slum dwellers concerned about looting refused to leave their imperiled shanties. Marco Nina, 24, a bricklayer, warily eyed a growing stream that rushed past his plywood and sheet metal home. “We are here with our nerves on edge,” he said. “If this hits, the roof is not going to hold. Other storms have passed but not this strong.” By Tuesday afternoon, Jimena had weakened slightly, with winds of 125 mph (205 kph), still a major hurricane with potential to do huge damage. It was located 110 miles (175 kilometers) southwest of Cabo San Lucas and traveling north-northwest near 12 mph (19 kph). Local officials say Hurricane Juliet, also a Category 4 hurricane on a similar course that killed several people and caused $20.5 million in September 2001, was the most damaging hurricane in the storm-prone state’s history. That 145-mph (230 kph) storm made a raging 12-day trip through Mexico and the southern United States. Join The Team! bGet regular headlines sent to your computer bFree classifieds in print and online for USU students bGet a screen name, so you can comment, congratulate, criticize on stories you may have read. bView “Viral Videos” other students have submitted. Submit a viral video that has you slapping your knee! bCheck out the web comics and puzzles bSubmit a wedding announcement. See other wedding news bGet your event or activity on the Interactive Calendar. Send it in to be published in the Statesman, too! bView PDF archives of past issues of The Statesman bFind a business. 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