Large forest fire breaks out in Papago
Large forest fire breaks out in Papago
29 March 2005
Published by www.saipantribune.com
A large forest fire broke out at the boundaries of Kannat Tabla and Papago Sunday night, leaving firefighters nearly helpless in putting out the blaze, had it not been for a heavy downpour that aided their efforts.
Department of Public Safety spokesman Eric David said the fire was so huge that he could see the blaze from his Koblerville home several miles away from the scene. Kannat Tabla and Papago stand on high ground a few miles away from Capitol Hill.
No casualties, injuries or destroyed houses were reported, David said.
He said the fire broke out due to a still unknown cause at about 9pm Sunday, prompting firefighters to respond to the scene.
“They responded but they couldn’t find any entry [point] to put out the fire,” David said. The firefighters remained at the scene to monitor the incident.
About an hour later, a heavy downpour in the area extinguished the fire, David said.
The DPS’ Fire division has been beset by a manpower shortage, with its workforce depleted due to the deployment of Army reservists to Iraq.
