From: LARRY KLAES (ljk4_at_msn.com)
Date: Tue Jul 06 2004 - 18:12:25 PDT
----- Original Message -----
From: John M. McMahon<mailto:mcmahon_at_LEMOYNE.EDU>
To: HASTRO-L_at_LISTSERV.WVU.EDU<mailto:HASTRO-L_at_LISTSERV.WVU.EDU>
Sent: Tuesday, July 06, 2004 6:02 PM
Subject: [HASTRO-L] Fire Threat to Graham Observatory
In case some folks haven't yet heard of this ...
AP/Yahoo 7/6/04:
"Crews Guard Arizona Observatory From Fire"
"Firefighters stood guard around a $200 million mountaintop observatory and
wrapped sheets of aluminum around summer cabins Tuesday to protect them
from an approaching wildfire.
As of midday, the flames were two miles from Turkey Flat, a community of 74
cabins on the side of Mount Graham. But officials said the 8,550-acre blaze
could spread quickly in the hot, dry weather.
'We could very well lose some homes today or tomorrow,' said Pruett Small,
an operations chief for the fire management team.
The lightning-sparked fire and an nearby 7,810-acre blaze on another part
of the mountain in southeastern Arizona had earlier prompted evacuation of
the Mount Graham International Observatory and a total of about 90 cabins in
Turkey Flat and another community.
The observatory's eight buildings and 8 1/2 acres of pine forest on Mount
Graham's 10,470-foot Emerald Peak were surrounded by a 200-foot-wide
clearing, and fire crews planned more controlled burns to expand the buffer
zone. It also has a sprinkler system that officials said would be turned on
if flames got to within a quarter-mile.
'Every day it gets a little bit better at the observatory,' Small said.
Officials said that while the observatory building would probably not burn,
smoke and heat could damage its delicate instruments.
The observatory, an extension of the University of Arizona, has two
operating telescopes and the $120 million Large Binocular Telescope, which
is under construction."
Full text (watch the wrap):
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=519&ncid=753&e=1&u=/ap/20040 John McMahon
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: Tue Jul 06 2004 - 18:25:27 PDT
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