| Show Tr i i ’ Page 2 — The Herald Journal Logan Utah Friday May 12 2000 IhOSIAIfimOSinlCIZOi SANTA FE NM (AP) — The fire that raged out of cm- trol and rolled into Los Alamos was the result of a major miscalculation by the National ' Park Service and it could cost the government dearly 1 7s -- I While flames from the 18000-acr- e blaze charred homes and forest Thursday! ' 'A members of Congress demanded a federal investigation and suggested the government consider compensating families T: 1 t - who lost their homes and belongings The fire began when the Park Service set a “controlled burn" to clear brush near Ban- - ? delier National Monument but high wind and dry weather-causeit to grow — just as the National Weather Service had warned might happen “Somebody made a mistake and obviously we have to find out who” Sen Pete Domenici said in Los Alamos “Did someone do something that should not have been done considering the dry conditions and the wind?” Even if political pressure fails to deliver money to some of the 18000 people forced to evacuate because of the fire the federal courts could ' R-N- M AP photo This Is a Landsat 7 satellite visible and infrared image of the area around Los Alamos N M Tuesday Under the federal Tort The Landsat 7 satellite acquired this image from 427 miles in space through its sensor called the Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM) Evident within the imagery is a view of the ongoing Ceno Claims Act the govemment is Grande fire near the town of Los Alamos and the Los Alamos National Laboratory Within this Image generally liable for negligent pair several features are dearly visible including the Ceno Grande fire and smoke plume the town of acts by its agencies and Los Alamos the Los Alamos National Laboratory and associated property and Cerro Grande peak employees said Turner Below are pictures of the fire and its damage taken over the past 24 hours Branch an Albuquerque lawyer who met Thursday with (57 ift & ' f rfix vy ' ‘ A'tx 'H ' potential clients from Los ’V Alamos “You can’t keep a tiger in your back yard and not be y responsible if it gets ' - '’I fjVJty Service responded quickly ftiv "i v&'- - ' out” Branch said “In this instance the tiger is a fire and they were not ready” He said a lawsuit also might focus on whether the Forest enough to fight the fire once it raced out of control Earlier this week the superintendent of Bandelier National Monument Roy Weaver : '5 fiotential for a catastrophic said winds became higher than expected and the humidity was lower than anticipated But the National Weather Service has said it faxed a spe- cial forecast to Bandelier shortly before the fire was started Hie forecast a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press told park officials there was maximum potential for fire growth: winds and temperatures were about to increase and there was a diminishing chance for the usual rise in nighttime humidity The forecast was headlined: 6 HAINES INDEX THROUGH FRIDAY WITH POOR NIGHTTIME RH " RH stands RECOVERY for relative humidity The Haines Index is a measure of stability of atmosphere and potential for fire growth It ranges from zero to six Weaver said hie never saw the forecast took responsibility for the £ APphoto set is the only atmcture still standing on a residential property nearTrinity and 48th street in Los Alamos NM early Thursday A awing blaze The Park Service planned to burn 900 acres tp 'clear brusn and reduce the - Domenici said the Senate Natural Rmoutcc Coo&tee haisked the Cen- Office Con- end Accounting gress investigative arm to investigate the fire He and Top Udawhoscdislrict includes Los Alamos are already blaming the Park Service: “They obviously made the wrong decision based on the weather” Udall said “This just isn’t the time to have any fire burning when you have such extreme winds and no humidity" Udall suggested government compensation for Los Alamos residents might prevent a long court battle over damage claims “The issue is to what extent this was a negligent decision and if it was I don’t think we want to be forcing people into court to litigate those kind of things" he said “I think if it was we should step up and try to remedy the losses” There is precedent for such a decision A prescribed fire set by the federal Bureau of Land Management in Northern Cali- fornia last July raged out of control and destroyed 23 homes causing $17 million in damage A federal report blamed the BLM for several the ? dmg wmds “ noufi' 01 properly protect homeowners LM accepted responsi-‘RC- p and agrttd'ta Cofopen- s"c homeowners t VJte 'hty l nI rag This Mothers Day ' Receive this wonderful Bath and Body works gift set Just show $150°° in same day receipts from any of the Cache Valley Mall stores and choose from the many fragrances letter CARRIERS isjn available Offer Available May 10-1-3 while supplies last QSiStiiifHiailSfiSSEJf S&i ! fH2CHE MLLEYm' YOUR BSMVM9 r 7ttfrUCE TO sno A pnpcii) at SFJf MtXhc 4 ' ! |
