NEWS - LODD - Crews tackle Utah wildfire that killed 3

Crews tackle Utah wildfire that killed 3 - NewsFlash:

The Associated Press

NEOLA, Utah (AP) — A wildfire that has scorched about 46 square miles in northeastern Utah and killed three people has prompted the evacuation of hundreds of people from nearby towns and forced authorities to close a national forest to the public.

The fire started Friday morning north of Neola, about 100 miles east of Salt Lake City, and on Sunday morning crews had it about 5 percent contained. The cause had not been determined.

The fire began spreading into the Ashley National Forest Sunday afternoon, prompting federal authorities to close it to public use.

The small communities of Whiterocks, Farm Creek, Paradise and Tridell were evacuated Saturday. Some residents in Tridell had been allowed to return.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency said about 300 people are under a mandatory evacuation. Another 150 homes in Dryfork Canyon, about 8 miles northeast of the fire, could be threatened by Tuesday, said Derek Jensen, a FEMA spokesman.

"We are seeing extreme fire behavior and the potential for growth is still there. We haven't had a change in weather or change in fuel type or dryness," said Louis Haynes, a spokesman for the national forest.

At nearby Vernal, there was little wind Sunday, the temperatures hit 95 degrees and midday humidity was only 10 percent, according to the National Weather Service.

Edson Gardner, of Fort Duchesne, went to Farm Creek to evacuate his mother, whose home was burned to the ground.

"It came down the canyon like a herd of horses," he said Saturday. "The sheriff told us we had five minutes to get out."

Uintah County Sheriff Jeff Merrell said buildings had been destroyed but he didn't have a count.

water PARTY ho. | Hip Mama

water PARTY ho. | Hip Mama:

Thought I would post this pic from a kids party today. Not only did they have a waterslide, but a frend of the dad's came with a giant water truck. The kid went nuts. Of course with kids...just add water.

California Fire News: News - Tahoe blaze burns moments into memories - sacbee.com

CAL FIRE News - Tahoe blaze

News - Tahoe blaze burns moments into memories - sacbee.com:

Tahoe blaze burns moments into memories

Portraits from the fire

By Chris Bowman - Bee Staff Writer

Last Updated 12:20 am PDT Sunday, July 1, 2007

PAT HENNESSY: For the first time in 30 years, the retired firefighter is seeing destroyed homes, especially his own, in a new way. "It's just full of skeletons of childhood memories," he said. Sacramento Bee/Hector Amezcua

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE -- The sudden losses suffered by hundreds amid the splendor of this alpine resort area are by now known the world over.

What's left behind?

The spirit to rebuild, the will to protect the famously clear lake, the determination to reduce the risk of another catastrophic forest fire.

And the moments frozen in time by journalists from all points to chronicle the Angora fire.

In other words, photographs.

The Bee revisited some of these moments to sketch out the stories and complete the portraits of individuals caught by the camera.

PAT HENNESSY

'We've still got the view'

Pat Hennessy, 54, is a retired firefighter who drafted himself back into the ranks to battle the Angora blaze -- after seeing his own house burn to the foundation.

No sooner did his home of 20 years vanish than he hopped on his water-tender truck and got himself assigned to fire crews.

On Saturday, he returned to his home site off Lake Tahoe Boulevard to search for anything left intact. There was more at stake than just his own family's belongings. His garage had served as a storehouse for many generations of Hennessys, dating back to their arrival from Germany during the California Gold Rush.

His '49er ancestors owned butcher shops in Downieville and Sierra City. They used the income to run the family-owned stamp mill, the Kentucky Mine, now a historic Nevada County park.

"I've seen the aftermath of many house fires," Hennessy said Saturday as he surveyed his own ashen heap. "They're really no longer homes -- they are just rubble."

Now, of course, he's developed a different perspective.

"It's just full of skeletons of childhood memories," Hennessy said as he pointed out a toddler-sized 1950s pedal tractor. He found a heap of twisted, tiny railroad track that went with the 1930s Lionel train set handed down from his father.

What remains of those homes? The outline of very personal property.

"This was the first time in 30 years of firefighting that I don't like the media trampling on ruins. Before, I never thought about it. It was just rubble.

"You start recognizing things, and then you start thinking, hey, maybe I'll find something. I found myself walking around saying, did this make it? Did that make it?"

On Friday, an insurance adjuster had stepped into the garage area to document damage, Hennessy recalled. "I said, 'Hey, you're trampling all over my Life magazine collection.' Not everybody has every issue of Life magazine -- and I mean every issue from 1936 to 1975."

Hennessy continues to talk about his house and things in the present because his family has no doubt about rebuilding.

With arms akimbo, Hennessy stood in what had been his living room and looked out at what had been his picture- window view of a forest service meadow.

"We've still got the view," he said. "It just has a little charcoal."