��������

SPARK AND TO GET OUT OF CONTROL. �������� 13 LISA CRANE IS LIVE IN SHELBY COUNTY TONIGHT WHERE FIREFIGHTERS ARE BATTLING A LARGE WILDFIRE RIGHT NOW. LISA. YEAH, THAT’S RIGHT. YOU KNOW, WE HAVE BEEN HERE WATCHING ALL DAY AS FIREFIGHTERS AND THE STATE FIRE COMMISSION HAS BEEN HERE TRYING TO GET THIS BLAZE UNDER CONTROL. WE’RE ON JACKSON FARM ROAD RIGHT NOW IN FOUR MILE, AND THAT’S NEAR WILSONVILLE. AND YOU CAN SEE ALL THE SMOKE BEHIND ME HERE, VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTERS HERE JUST TELLING ME THAT THEY’RE USING THESE FIELDS LIKE THIS COTTON FIELD BEHIND ME AS NATURAL FIREBREAKS BECAUSE THEY SAY IT IS EASIER TO FIGHT THOSE FLAMES ON THE EDGE OF THESE FIELDS THAN IT IS GOING INTO THE WOODS AND TRYING TO DO IT THERE. NOW, WE’VE BEEN HERE, AS I SAID, ALL DAY LONG AS THIS WILDFIRE HAS SLOWLY BEEN SCORCHING DOZENS OF ACRES. AT LAST CHECK, THE ESTIMATE WAS ABOUT 75 ACRES BLACKENED. THIS IS A RURAL AREA, SO A LOT OF FIELDS AND TIMBERLAND. BUT THERE ARE HOMES NEAR HERE. AND MANY RESIDENTS CAME HOME FROM WORK EARLY TODAY TO KEEP AN EYE ON THIS BLAZE THAT’S MAKING THEM VERY NERVOUS. WE TALKED A LITTLE BIT WITH THE FIREMEN AND THEY SAID IT’S NOT UNDER CONTROL AND THEY SAID GET READY TO EVACUATE IF IT COMES TO THAT. AND I HAVE 100 ANIMALS. MOST ARE BIRDS, BUT, YOU KNOW, CHICKENS AND DUCKS AND ALL THAT. AND WE’VE JUST ALREADY MADE THE DECISION WE’RE JUST GOING TO OPEN UP THE GATES IF WE HAVE TO, BECAUSE WE DON’T WANT THEM TO BURN. OF COURSE, I HAVE GOATS AND SHEEP AND A DONKEY. AND SO WE HAVE PULLED THEM ALL TOWARDS THE FRONT FIELDS, PRETTY DRY AND THE WIND’S LIKE SWIRLING AROUND. SO IF YOU LOOK BEHIND US WHERE IT SEEM TO HAVE GONE BUT I GUESS THE WIND WAS MOVING IT QUICKER THAN IT WAS. SO THE TREES DIDN’T CATCH UP. SO THAT’S A PLUS. BUT I GUESS IT ALL DEPENDS ON WHAT IT DOES BACK THERE. NOW, I JUST GOT AN UPDATE FROM THE STATE FORESTRY COMMISSION, SAY THAT AT ABOUT 8:00 THIS MORNING THEY WERE CALLED HERE TO HELP BATTLE A BLAZE. IT WAS ABOUT FIVE ACRES. THEY GOT HERE AND QUICKLY CONTAINED IT TO ABOUT TEN ACRES. BUT THEY SAY DURING THAT TIME, THREE MORE FIRES SPARKED IN THE SAME AREA. AND THAT’S THE SMOKE YOU’RE SEEING BEHIND ME. AND THEY SAY THEY WEREN’T ABLE TO BATTLE THOSE BLAZES FOR QUITE A WHILE BECAUSE THEIR TRACTOR BROKE DOWN, THEY HAVE JUST BRING IN ANOTHER ONE IN FROM TALLADEGA COUNTY. THEY SAID IT SHOULD BE HERE ABOUT RIGHT NOW. AND ONCE THAT HAPPENS, THEY SHOULD BE ABLE TO TACKLE THESE FIRES PRETTY QUICKLY. BUT AGAIN, THEY SAY THEY TELL US THAT RIGHT. IT DOESN’T LOOK LIKE ANY RESIDENTS OR HOMES ARE THREATENED. SO WE’LL HOPE IT STAYS THAT WAY. LIVE IN FO