Saturday, September 25, 2010
Negligent National Guard Started Utah Wildfire
HERRIMAN, Utah — A wind-stoked wildfire sparked at a firing range during a National Guard training session blazed across thousands of acres yesterday as crews rushed to keep it from burning more than the three homes that authorities said were destroyed overnight.
The fire moved back on itself yesterday as the Utah National Guard acknowledged it wasn’t the first time that live-fire exercises had sparked a fire at Camp Williams, a sprawling compound 30 miles south of Salt Lake City....
You would think they would learn.
Residents and Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon were questioning the National Guard’s decision to fire weapons Sunday in dry and windy conditions, but Lieutenant Colonel Hank McIntire said wind was not a factor until after the fire took hold.
“There’s always the possibility that some ammunition will catch brush on fire. We felt like we had it extinguished yesterday, then some embers reignited in the wind and it got away from us,’’ McIntire said. “That’s when the wind picked up and got it going again....’’
Fire spokeswoman Kim Osborn said five tanker planes were in the air, dropping suppressant and trying to get as much of the fire under control before today, when winds were expected to increase.
--more--"
"Fire sparked by National Guard still rages" by Associated Press | September 22, 2010
HERRIMAN, Utah — The National Guard joined forces with firefighters again yesterday to battle a fast-moving, wind-driven blaze that the Guard ignited during a machine-gun training exercise.
Utah Army Guard General Brian Tarbet said Monday that he was “deeply sorry’’ about what he called a “systematic failure’’ at Camp Williams, about 30 miles south of Salt Lake City.
The commander accepted responsibility for the wildfire sparked Sunday that destroyed three houses, damaged a fourth, and forced the evacuation of more than 1,600 homes. Officials said yesterday that 450 homes remained evacuated.
Tarbet said no one checked to see that the National Weather Service had posted a “red flag’’ high-wind warning before the exercises were permitted to continue in the tinder-dry conditions. He also said Guard commanders waited two hours to call outside fire agencies for help.
So the military guy from the day before was just lying, huh?
Rule #1: First thing out of the military's mouth is always a lie.
The Unified Police Department, an agency overseeing Salt Lake County, is enforcing an evacuation order for parts of Herriman, a community of about 18,000 at the southwest corner of the Salt Lake valley.
Your government serving you, AmeriKan citizen.
--more--"
The war lies are really worth it, aren't they?
Hopefully the fires didn't get near the dig:
"Scientists said yesterday that they’ve discovered fossils in the southern Utah desert of two new dinosaur species closely related to the triceratops....
--more--"
The tourists come from all around they tell me:
SALT LAKE CITY — The driver of a tour bus that crashed in Utah, killing three people and injuring 11 others from a Japanese tour group last month, is accused of having trace amounts of an intoxicant in his blood, according to jail records.
Yasushi Mikuni, 26, was arrested Tuesday by the Utah Highway Patrol and booked into Iron County jail in Cedar City on suspicion of 11 charges of driving with a measurable amount of a byproduct of a controlled substance in his body. The charge, called DUI metabolite, is a felony.
What was he on?
Mikuni also faces 10 other felony charges of operating a vehicle negligently causing death or injury. In addition, he was held on misdemeanor logbook and lane-change violations.
Mikuni is a Japanese citizen who authorities said was living in Las Vegas on a work and education visa. He was driving the bus when it rolled over Aug. 8 on Interstate 15, authorities said.
--more--"
Also see: Around AmeriKa: No Return Trip From Utah
