A U.S. Air Force A-10 attack jet crashed and burned in Britain this morning while on a routine training flight . The Pentagon said the pilot might have ejected safely . It was the second crash of a Thunderbolt jet in Europe in two weeks . Another A-10 crashed Dec. 8 in Tracy , Ariz. . Dan Howard , the Pentagon 's chief spokesman , originally identified the plane as an A-10 aircraft from the 81st Tactical Fighter Wing at RAF Bentwaters , England . The Air Force later corrected that statement , saying the A-10 was assigned to the 10th Tactical Fighter Wing at RAF Alconbury . Howard said the plane `` crashed at 9:53 a.m. EST about four miles south of St. Ives , or about 25 miles north of Cambridge . '' `` The pilot ejected and his chute was sighted but we do n't know his status , '' Howard said . The aircraft was carrying `` dummy bombs and practice 33mm ammunition , '' the spokesman said . He said he had no information about damage on the ground . The A-10 , a twin-engine jet designed to support troops by killing enemy tanks and other ground targets , is an older model plane designed to be highly maneuverable at low speeds and low altitude and to carry a lot of bombs and ammunition . The Thunderbolt II is also one of the safest planes , statistically , in the Air Force inventory . Nonetheless , today 's crash comes just two weeks to the day after another A-10 slammed into the West German city of Remscheid , killing five and injuring dozens . That crash prompted the United States and its NATO allies to agree to suspend all A-10 flights over West Germany until Jan. 2 . The suspension was ordered as German political parties and public interest groups increased their demands for an end to low-level flight training in Germany . On the same day as the crash in Remscheid , an A-10 crashed near the heart of the Tohono O'Odham Indian Reservation , about 80 miles west of Tuscon , but the pilot ejected safely . Howard refused today to discuss the possible cause of the crash in England , saying the Pentagon was still awaiting initial reports from the scene and confirmation that the pilot survived . The Thunderbolt first flew in 1975 and became operational with the Air Force in 1977 . The plane is no longer in production , but the Air Force has more than 700 of them in its inventory . Statistically , the A-10 over time has been the safest fighter or attack plane currently in the inventory . The aircraft has chalked up a major accident rate of less than 4 Class A mishaps per 100,000 flying hours over its lifetime _ which now consists of more than 1.75 million flight hours . A Class A mishap is one in which there is either a fatality or damage exceeding $ 500,000 to an aircraft . The Air Force describes the A-10 as `` a simple , effective and survivable twin-engine jet aircraft that can be used against all ground targets ... The aircraft has excellent maneuverability at low air speeds and altitude and highly accurate weapons delivery . ''

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Third World countries led by Brazil , the world 's most indebted developing nation , blamed the industrialized nations in part Monday for perpetuating their poverty . Foreign Minister Roberto de Abreau Sodre of Brazil told the opening session of the 42nd General Assembly that the Third World economic picture was dimming `` due to the lack of progress in international economic relations . '' `` It is ... sad to note that we , American , Asian , African brothers , still suffer from the same horrors and the same desolation which so badly affected our forebears , '' he said , adding , `` hunger ... is endemically spreading throughout the continents . '' A similar theme sounded Monday in West Berlin , where finance ministers of 22 developed or developing countries demanded `` more forceful action '' to help Third World countries repay $ 1.2 trillion in debts . Brazil , with $ 121 billion in foreign loans , has been among the strongest Third World lobbyists for debt restructuring and writeoffs . It signed a comprehensive rescheduling agrement last week with its Western creditors . It is critical of the U.S. view that strong economic performance in developed countries would trickle down to help the Third World . Foreign Affairs Secretary Obed Y. Asamoah of Ghana appealed to creditors to write off some debts and reschedule others . He urged nations to work together to raise commodity prices to strengthen African economies . `` In a market place where one group of operators is continually selling its wares cheaply and buying those of others dearly , protection needs be given to the weak and vulnerable operators , '' he said . Ghana had an estimated foreign debt last year of $ 2.8 billion . Officials of the seven key industrialized nations in the non-communist realm _ the United States , West Germany , Japan , Canada , France , Italy and Britain _ have approved a plan to aid the world 's poorest nations , mostly in sub-Saharan Africa . But Latin American countries also would like more help . Argentina 's deputy foreign minister , Susana Ruiz Cerutti , called for a `` new strategy of global development , '' including debt forgiveness . Argentina has a $ 56 billion foreign debt . Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland of Norway said her country spends about 1.1 percent of its gross national product on loans and grants to developing countries , well above the average 0.34 percent by other developed countries . She urged other industrialized nations to increase financial aid , saying development and debt are related Third World crises . `` The industrialized countries of the North must now demonstrate that they see the poverty of the Third World as their common challenge , '' she said .

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A top West German military official said Saturday that the fiery crash of a U.S. Air Force jet that killed six people will further erode popular support for national defense programs . In the city of Remscheid , fire brigade leader Berthold Hoehler said the body of a construction worker was pulled from the rubble of a house destroyed in the accident , raisng the death toll from the accident to six . Seven people hurt in Thursday 's accident remained in critical condition , he said . Later Saturday , at least 4,000 people took part in a torchlight vigil and procession in downtown Remscheid to remember the victims and to demand an end to low-level flight training missions . A U.S. Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II jet tore a swath of destruction through a working-class neighborhood in the central West German city of Remscheid . Rescue workers continued to comb the debris Saturday , as work crews tore down the remains of demolished houses . In an interview with the Welt am Sonntag newspaper , the inspector general of West Germany 's military said the crash was certain to have a serious impact on already sinking public support for defense issues . `` We are in a very difficult psychological situation , '' Dieter Wellershoff was quoted as saying . Wellershoff was referring to recent polls indicating dwindling public support for defense spending and increasing dissatisfaction over disruptive and often deadly military training maneuvers . `` I am alarmed that many West Germans have lost sight of the hard facts -LRB- of defense realities -RRB- in their hopes for continued peace , '' which hinge on West Germany 's and NATO 's security preparedness , he said . West Germany , a staunch NATO ally , borders East Germany and Czechoslovakia , thus putting it on the front lines of the East-West struggle . Wellershoff 's comments were to appear in the newspaper 's Sunday editions . The text of the interview was telexed in advance to other news media . West Germany 's skies are crowded with hundreds of jets and helicopters each day . A series of deadly accidents has fueled growing calls for a halt to or drastic reductions in low-level training flights . Even before Thursday 's fatal crash , 12 major accidents of military aircraft had killed 95 people this year alone . They included 70 people who died as a result of an air show crash at the U.S. base in Ramstein in August . Following the Remscheid crash , temporary suspensions of low-level training missions were ordered . The U.S. Air Force said in a statement Saturday that the pilot of the A-10 `` inadvertently flew into clouds '' while attempting to join in close formation with another aircraft . The Air Force statement , quoting Maj. Gen. Marcus A. Anderson , said the pilot `` then initiated a separation maneuver as is normal if two aircraft in formation lose visual contact . '' The statement said the lead aircraft climbed above the clouds , but that the second A-10 `` continued in a descent . '' `` We do not know why , '' Anderson said in the statement . West German military officials have speculated that the pilot may have become disoriented when he tried to climb out of the bad weather . Witnesses on the ground , however , have said they saw one of the jet 's two engines on fire before it crashed .

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u.s. air force a-10 thunderbolt
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Ben Johnson spent his homecoming in seclusion , without the Olympic gold medal and the hero 's welcome , as Canadians bemoaned the fate of the sprinter who failed the drug test . Returning to Canada on Tuesday , Johnson , 26 , dodged reporters and the public , refusing to talk about the muscle-building and illegal steroid Stanzolol found in his system after he won the 100-meter dash as the world 's fastest human . But on the flight from South Korea , he denied using the drugs even though Olympic officials said the results were indisputable . `` I got nothing to hide , '' Johnson told The Boston Globe during the flight to New York , where he then boarded another plane for Canada . `` I do n't want to tell no names , but somebody 's smiling today . '' `` It 's not the only thing in life to win a gold medal , '' Johnson said . `` I still have my parents . My family still loves me . '' Stripped of the gold and banned for life from Canadian teams , Johnson cried in the back of a limousine that whisked him to his mother 's home in suburban Toronto after the grueling trip from Seoul . `` There 's no gold now , just disappointment , '' said Boyd Plaxton , 26 , of Saskatoon , Saskatchewan , one of 200 people on hand when Johnson 's plane landed . `` If he had come home with the gold in tact , there would have been a million people here , '' Plaxton said . Chaos spoiled a gilt-edged moment for a man who had run 100 meters in the fastest time ever , 9.79 seconds . Johnson , surrounded by a phalanx of security guards , ducked into a car and made a mad dash for the door when he arrived at the house . But he apparently forgot his key and had to return 20 minutes later with his shirt over his head . Johnson spent the 1 hour , 40 minute flight from New York in the plane 's cockpit to avoid reporters . On the way to New York , however , he stayed in the passenger cabin , appearing calm throughout the flight , the Globe said . As passengers realized who he was , some sought autographs . A group of flight attendants swarmed around Johnson for a photo . `` First I was shocked , but after a while , I do n't care , '' Johnson said when asked what he felt after he was informed he had failed the drug test . In Canada , a parade in his adopted hometown was canceled , and promoters backed out of deals or announced their ties with the sprinter would expire quietly . Sports Minister Jean Charest said Johnson had tested negative for drugs in August and had passed eight tests in two years . He called the stripping of the medal a `` national embarrassment . '' Johnson 's family and close friends also denied he took steroids `` I know my son does n't take drugs . I know he has n't done it . I know it , '' said his father , Ben Johnson Sr. , from Falmouth , Jamaica , in an interview with the Toronto Globe and Mail . `` Ben loved mom too much to discredit her in any way , '' said his sister , Claire Rodney , of suburban Toronto . Johnson had dedicated his gold to his mother , Gloria , and the Canadian people . It was surrendered to Canadian Olympic officials before the family left South Korea on Monday . `` Right now he 's just relieved to be resting at home . He wants to be with people who love him now , not the hypocrites who abandoned him , '' Ms. Rodney said outside her mother 's house . `` He looks great . Being at home is the best medicine for him , '' said Ms. Rodney . `` My brother is not a druggie . '' His personal physician , Dr. George Astaphan , also said no steroids were dispensed . `` I never gave him any , and he never told me he took any , '' Astaphan said in an interview in a baggage claim area . Hundreds of Canadians rallied to the sprinter 's side . Police escorted a woman to the door of Johnson 's mother 's home so she could deliver a card with more than 1,000 signatures from Canadians `` who sympathized with your personal devastation . '' In Toronto , a group of restaurant employees chipped in about $ 350 to charter a plane that circled the city with a banner proclaiming : `` We believe you , Ben . '' In Montreal , Johnson 's fans said they were disappointed . `` The last flicker of hope just died , '' said Danny Planetta , who was watching TV at a bar when he heard Monday night that Johnson had tested positive for steroids . `` When he won , we won and we were raving about it ... The guy was a hero and now he is just a big disappointment . ''

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Coast Guard and Navy aircraft and vessels today searched for a crewman missing from an F-14 jet fighter that plunged into the Atlantic Ocean off North Carolina while practicing combat maneuvers , killing his crewmate , officials said . Six people were injured in another F-14 crash Monday after two Navy aviators bailed out of their jet over an airfield in the San Diego suburb of El Cajon , sending it smashing into a hangar . And a pilot in Utah escaped injury today in a third military training flight in two days . The crash off Hatteras , N.C. , occurred Monday afternoon 22 miles east of Oregon Inlet , the Navy said . A fishing boat picked up a crewman , who was pronounced dead . The identity of the dead aviator and his missing crewmate were not released pending notification of relatives . Five people , including the two Navy fliers , remained hospitalized today following the crash Monday morning in El Cajon 15 miles east of San Diego . The $ 35 million jet crashed upside down into hangars at Gillespie Field and exploded . The blaze ignited by the crash destroyed a hangar and an attached extension , but spared a nearby restaurant . Authorities said the two crewman tried to guide the jet to the runway at Gillespie Field before bailing out . Capt. Gary Hughes , commanding officer of Naval Air Station Miramar , said he was grateful there were n't more injuries , `` particularly when you 're this close to El Cajon . It 's a very populated area . '' The jet passed within a mile of an elementary school . `` I thought they were just doing tricks . And then we saw the parachutes , '' said Washington Moscuso , a sixth-grader at Ballantyne Elementary School . In the Atlantic accident , Lt. Cmdr. Mike John , a spokesman for the Navy 's Atlantic Fleet air force in Norfolk , Va. , said the plane was engaged in mock dogfights with another F-14 and an A-4 jet in restricted military airspace off the North Carolina coast . `` It was flying a routine training mission , '' John said . The cause of the crash was not determined , officials said . The aircraft sank soon after impact , John said . The twin-engine supersonic fighter was attached to Fighter Squadron 143 at Oceana Naval Air Station in Virginia Beach , Va. . In northern Utah today , an F-16A jet fighter crashed west of Hill Air Force Base after the pilot bailed out , a base spokeswoman said . The aircraft , assigned to Hill 's 388th Tactical Fighter Wing , was on a routine training mission . Spokeswoman Silvia Le Mons-Liddle said the plane went down about 25 miles west of the base about 9:05 a.m. MDT . She said the crash site was in or near the Promontory Mountains , which are on a peninsula jutting into the Great Salt Lake , but she declined to be more specific .

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atlantic accident


The stripping of Ben Johnson 's Olympic gold medal in a drug scandal has wounded Canadian pride and shamed a nation hungry for a hero to replace hockey superstar Wayne Gretzky . `` It 's like Wayne Gretzky getting run over by a car , '' said Pat Reid , the Canadian high-jump coach . The spirit of a nation raced with Johnson when he won the gold medal in the 100 meters on Saturday with a world record time of 9.79 seconds . The euphoria was dashed when Johnson tested positive for stanzolol , a muscle-building steroid outlawed by Olympic officials . He was stripped of the medal Tuesday . Dr. George Astaphan , Johnson 's personal physician , and Larry Heidebrecht , Johnson 's agent , insisted the sprinter had not taken stanzolol . `` The only thing we can say is that it is a tragedy , a mistake or sabotage , '' Heidebrecht said . Johnson , a 26-year-old Jamaican transplant , waved the Canadian flag in triumph and dedicated his gold to his mother and all Canadian citizens . He returned home with a jacket over his head , hurdling a hedge to duck reporters after flying home from New York in the seclusion of a jet cockpit . It was unheroic conduct for the world 's fastest human , who had been awarded the Order of Canada and a medal from Queen Elizabeth at the Commonwealth Games . Johnson 's disgrace was heralded in Canadian headlines such as `` Fool 's Gold , '' `` Black Day For Canada , '' `` Seconds Of Glory , Years Of Shame , '' `` From Fame To Shame , '' and `` Big Ben is Now Has-Ben . '' `` We 're feeling low . Some of us do n't want to accept what happened , '' said John Furedy , a psychologist at the University of Toronto , in assessing the mational psyche . `` We all share some of the responsibility in the sense that we put such tremendous pressure on these people , '' Furedy said . Trent Frayne , sports columnist for the Globe and Mail of Toronto , said Johnson 's victory was the biggest event in Canada since a national team beat the Soviet Union in a seven-game hockey series in 1972 . The drug scandal brought the same sickening feeling to the nation as did Gretzky 's trade to the Los Angeles Kings . `` There was enormous exhilaration . Then 72 hours later , there was this roller coaster ride to the bottom , '' Frayne said . `` The Ben Johnson episode is a tragedy of shocking proportions . '' `` It 's as if an entire country has gone into a period of national mourning on his behalf , '' wrote columnist John Robertson of the Toronto Star . Canadian youth took the news hard . `` We look up to the guy . I guess we do n't look up to him anymore , '' said Craig Brown , 13 , of Toronto . `` He 's letting all his fans down . He let Canada down , '' said Donny Clarke , 12 . Canada has always tried to escape the influence of the United States , where its dollar is worth 80 cents . Now it has forfeited its only gold medal of the Olympics . `` He has left Canadians hanging their heads in shame , '' wrote the Corner Brook Western Star . `` He tarnished the name and reputation of Canada and let its people down , '' said the Fredickton Gleaner . But columnist Gary Lautens of the Toronto Star said the nation should not cover its head in shame . `` What Johnson did was wrong . It 's cheating . It 's believing the end justifies the means , it 's looking for an unfair edge , '' Lautens said . `` But it is also just a foot race . It 's time somebody reminded us nobody tried to peddle arms for hostages , nobody shot down a civilian airliner , nobody booby-trapped a home . ''

O B O B I O B I I O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

ben johnson
canadians
olympic gold medal
drug scandal
stanzolol
sprinter
stripping


The City Council today asked county prosecutors to investigate the conduct of a white policeman who was secretly filmed while he pushed an off-duty black policeman through a plate-glass window . `` We 're certainly not happy to have an incident like this occurring , but we need all the information , '' said Councilman Thomas J. Clark of the council 's request for an investigation . Curt Livesay , an assisant Los Angeles County district attorney and head of the office 's Special Investigations Division , will lead the probe , said district attorney spokesman Andy Reynolds . The black Hawthorne policeman , Sgt. Don Jackson , said he set up the self-styled `` sting '' in Long Beach to expose alleged police racism in the Los Angeles area . An NBC-TV news camera crew arranged to follow Jackson during the sting Saturday night . The incident was broadcast on NBC 's national news Monday night . `` We 've never been able to come forth before with enough evidence -LRB- of alleged police racism -RRB- . Now , it is brought to your living room in living color , '' said Frank Berry , president of the Long Beach chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People . The police chief in Long Beach declined to comment pending an investigation . City officials promised a thorough inquiry . `` We will pursue it aggressively , '' said Long Beach City Manager James Hanklad . `` If there is evidence of brutality , we will act accordingly . '' Long Beach Mayor Ernie Kell said on NBC 's `` Today '' show this morning that he was disturbed by the videotape . `` I ... do not support racism or police brutality , nor do the vast majority of the citizens of Long Beach , and we 're a caring , thinking community and it disturbed us very much to see the tape , '' he said . Long Beach , about 20 miles south of downtown Los Angeles , has about 450,000 people , including a sizeable black population . Jackson and a companion were driving through a high-crime area of the city when their car was pulled over and Jackson got out . The NBC-TV videotape shows a white officer attempting to search Jackson . The officer unleashed a stream of profanity and roughed up Jackson after he demanded to know why he was being searched . The incident renewed calls for a citizen board to review the Police Department . The idea first was debated last year amid allegations of police brutality . But Jackson 's boss said the black officer was looking for trouble . `` I submit that if Mr. Jackson had stayed in the vehicle , as did the driver , this incident would not have occurred , '' Hawthorne Police Chief Kenneth R. Stonebraker said at a news conference Monday . Since the incident apparently was timed by Jackson to coincide with the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. the confrontation should be considered `` nothing short of timed sensationalism at the risk of serious injury to all of the parties involved , '' Stonebraker said . `` As a police chief , '' he added , `` I do not for one minute condone the unlawful use of force or police brutality . '' The 30-year-old Jackson , who has been on a stress-related disability leave from his Hawthorne job for 22 months , contends the incident is typical of a pattern of racism by white officers in the Los Angeles area . Jackson alleges racist slurs and actions forced him from the Hawthorne department . He has a disability lawsuit pending , has filed racism complaints against the department and conducted a similar personal sting operation against Los Angeles police . Jackson was riding as a passenger with Jeffrey Hill , a 30-year-old off-duty state corrections officer , when they were pulled over allegedly for straddling lanes , which they denied . Jackson got out after the car stopped and police approached . During an argument , Long Beach Officer Mark Dickey ordered Jackson to face a building and put his hands behind his head . Jackson complied , and moments later was pushed through a plate-glass store window . `` I 'm all right . OK , no problem , '' said Jackson on the videotape . Police booked Jackson for investigation of interfering with police and challenging a police officer . Hill was issued a traffic citation . `` The officer simply used violence , '' Jackson said Monday . `` I already cooperated and told him he could search me , '' Jackson said . `` I had already had my hands up and was turned to the window and he slammed my face in it . '' Jackson received support at a Monday night ceremony in Los Angeles commemorating King 's birthday . `` I 'm deeply concerned since it strikes me as a period when police violence and excessive force is rampant , '' said Mark Ridley-Thomas , executive director of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference 's Los Angeles chapter . `` I 'm more so offended since the Hawthorne Police Department , which has no jurisdiction , is making judgment . '' Jackson said he chose Long Beach police because of complaints to the Police Misconduct Lawyer 's Referral Service of Los Angeles . David Lynn of the referral service said 50 misconduct complaints were filed with his group against the Long Beach police . Of those , 27 were filed by minorities , and 24 of those involved confrontations with white officers .

O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O B I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

police racism
police brutality
white policeman
black policeman
long beach police
racism complaints
los angeles area
serious injury


A lightning-sparked fire in Utah 's Zion National Park spread out of control to 1,100 acres Tuesday , but rain helped firefighters hold the line on a 2,000-acre forest fire in Montana and two other major fires in Wyoming . Gusty winds spread a third Wyoming fire over 400 acres of the Bridger-Teton National Forest and forced the evacuation of a campground and summer cabins on Freemont Lake , a half mile from the blaze . A fire that scorched 1,130 acres in and around the Hiawatha National Forest in Michigan was linked to a vehicle exhaust pipe . Hundreds of small grass and brush fires were reported over the July 4 weekend , some caused by fireworks , in various parts of the country . `` The Fourth of July holiday really contributed to the problem , '' said Capt. Ray Wood , regional ranger for the New York Department of Environmental Conservation in the Hudson Valley . `` Fireworks were touching off fires all over the place . Last night it sounded like every fire alarm in the area was going off . '' In California , a fireworks-caused blaze that swept over 2,200 acres near Yosemite National Park was declared contained at dawn Tuesday . `` We have evidence confirming that it was a bottle rocket , '' said Mary Hale , a spokeswoman for the California Department of Forestry . By Monday , $ 384,000 had been spent to combat the fire , she said . Authorities will try to recover that money , said Pat Kaunert of the U.S. Forest Service . More than 670 firefighters from federal , state and local agencies cut trails in the rugged terrain by hand and used airplanes to drop fire retardant , officials said . Kentucky 's Division of Forestry reported 85 fires burned 1,267 acres in the first four days of July , compared to an average of 18 fires and 165 acres for the whole month , spokesman Richard Green said . About 40 weekend timber fires were attributed to fireworks . But Dwight Barnett , a spokesman for the Tennessee Division of Forestry , said there were 26 wildland fires on the Fourth of July , which burned just 113 acres . `` We were very relieved to get through the weekend in such good shape , '' he said , citing partly the care taken by people playing with fireworks . In Utah , Chief Ranger Bob Andrew said the Zion blaze was ignited by lightning June 19 . It was allowed to burn in a small area , but on Sunday wind to 60 mph spread the flames , and the fire nearly doubled in size from early Tuesday to midday . No injuries or property damage was reported . The Montana fire burned in the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness Area in the south-central part of the state . Weekend rain helped keep it from spreading outside the wilderness boundary , said fire information Officer Jo Barnier in Billings . And a helicopter was dropping water on the fire Tuesday afternoon . The fire has been burning since at least June 19 in the Custer National Forest . Phil Jaquith , Beartooth District ranger for the forest , said Forest Service policy is to allow wilderness fires to burn unless they threaten trails or structures or are about to spread outside the wilderness boundary . A day after rain beat down the flames of a 1,650-acre fire in the Shoshone National Forest in northwest Wyoming , firefighters were able to reinforce fire lines around the blaze in the absence of strong winds . The lightning-sparked fire has been burning for almost two weeks . Rain Monday night also calmed three fires in Yellowstone National Park in the state 's northwest corner . Park spokeswoman Amy Vanderbilt said the `` fan fire '' in the park 's northwest corner had held at 1,800 acres , while two other fires in the southern section of the park continued to burn over about 90 acres . Because all three fires are in the backcountry no efforts were being made to douse the flames , she said . The evacuation in the Bridger-Teton forest was a precaution and the fire started to die down somewhat as temperatures dropped at nighttime , forest spokesman Fred Kingwill said . The blaze apparently was sparked by fireworks over the holiday weekend , Kingwill said . In Michigan , authorities concluded a hot exhaust pipe or exhaust particles triggered the Upper Peninsula fire , said Mary Mumford , spokeswoman for Hiawatha National Forest . The fire was declared under control Monday . Firefighters also battled two smaller fires that broke out on the Upper Peninsula Tuesday , burning 220 acres , Department of Natural Resources spokesman Bob Heyd said . In California , about 190 firefighters battled a wildfire that burned 350 acres of brush Tuesday across steep terrain in an area of Los Padres National Forest untouched by fire in 64 years , said Earl Clayton of the U.S. Forest Service . Rising humidity and cooler temperatures were checking the fire 's spread , he said . There were no injuries in the fire , which was reported Tuesday afternoon .

O O O O B O B I I O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

utah
zion national park
firefighters
forest fire
fire lines
brush fires


Firefighters in California , Michigan , Montana , Wyoming and Utah battled holiday weekend fires which blackened more than 6,000 acres of forest and wilderness areas . Illegal fireworks were blamed for a blaze that swept over 2,200 rugged acres of Stanislaus National Forest in California , 10 miles west of Yosemite National Park . The fire , which began Saturday , was declared contained this morning , `` We have evidence confirming that it was a bottle rocket , '' said Mary Hale , a spokeswoman for the California Department of Forestry . The fire was the largest in the forest this year . Stanislaus was the scene of huge wildfires last summer . In southern Utah 's scenic Zion National Park , firefighters tried today to contain a 600-acre fire that was ignited by lightning June 19 but had been allowed to burn in a small area . However , on Sunday , winds ranging from 30 mph to 60 mph fanned the flames out of control , Chief Ranger Bob Andrew said . Firefighters , assisted by water-carrying aircraft , expected to have the blaze contained by midday . No injuries or property damage were reported . A four-day fire in 1,100 acres of Hiawatha National Park in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan was also said to be under control , although continued hot dry weather could mean weeks before the fire is extinguished . `` It 's been real quiet out there , '' Sgt. Terry Leisening of the Delta County Sheriff 's Department said today . `` I think they 've got it just about out . '' U.S. Forest Service spokesman Dale Bluedorn agreed , but said they will continue to keep patrolling . `` It may not be declared out until there 's a three-day rain , '' he said Monday . A small contingent of firefighters who hiked into the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness on Monday in south-central Montana contained portions of a 2,000-acre fire that has been burning there since June 19 , forest officials said . Forest Service policy allows wilderness fires to burn unless they threaten trails or structures , or threaten to burn outside the wilderness boundary . The firefighters were called in to stop the flames as they neared the Stillwater River Trail inside the wilderness area . High winds Saturday tripled the fire 's size . Phil Jaquith , Beartooth District ranger for the Custer National Forest , said the bulk of the fire on the east banks of the Stillwater River was not being suppressed . Cooler temperatures and calmer wind played a role in getting the blaze contained on the west riverbank , which is about two miles from the trail , Jaquith said . Three-quarters of an inch of rain on Monday helped slow a fire on 1,650 acres in the Shoshone National Forest in Wyoming , and rain also damped fires in Yellowstone National Park . Fire information officer Dave Damron said water was also being pumped out of bogs in the Shoshone forest to help contain the fire . Firefighters concentrated on keeping the fire entering the Du Noir Special Management Area a few miles to the north , Damron said . Meanwhile , a fire which burned 8,700 acres in the Tonto National Forest north of Phoenix , Ariz. , was reported extinguished on Monday .

B O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O B O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O

wildfires
firefighters
illegal fireworks
blaze
fires
national forest


Here is a brief look at forest fire developments in the Western states :


A U.S. military jet crashed today in a remote , forested area in northern Japan , but the pilot bailed out safely and was taken by helicopter to an American military base , officials said . The pilot of the F-16C , Maj. Wyman E. Vanedoe , was listed in good condition soon after the crash , the U.S. Forces Japan Media Liaison Office in Tokyo said . Vanedoe 's home town was not immediately available , said a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity . Isao Teranagare , spokesman of Iwate Prefecture -LRB- state -RRB- Police , said the pilot was taken by a Japanese rescue helicopter to the U.S. Air Base at Misawa in northern Japan . No one else was aboard the fighter , he said . The U.S. aircraft , belonging to the 14th Tactical Fighter Squadron at Misawa , was on a routine training flight with two other F-16s in partly cloudy skies when it crashed in a forested area in Iwate , police said . Iwate is about 290 miles north of Tokyo . The cause of the crash was under investigation . On March 22 , 1987 , another F-16 crashed in the Pacific Ocean off Misawa , 360 miles north of Tokyo . In that crash , the pilot also bailed out and was rescued by a helicopter . The F-16 , a powerful air-to-surface fighter , has a combat range of about 575 miles , according to Jane 's `` All The World 's Aircraft . '' About 50 F-16s are stationed at Misawa . Misawa is located about 440 miles south of a Soviet military base near Yuzhno Sakhalinsk on the island of Sakhalin .

O O B I O O O O O O O O O B I O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O B O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

crash
military jet
northern japan
pilot
misawa


One of nature 's most vicious spectacles , the tornado , is poised to renew its annual assault on America , as changeable spring weather breeds the storms that spawn twisters . Last year was one of fewer than normal tornado deaths , but even so , more than 700 of the violent funnel clouds struck the nation . In 1988 the nation recorded 32 tornado deaths , down from the 59 killed a year earlier and well below the long-term average of 99 fatalities annually , the National Weather Service reported on Sunday . But while that 's good news , it is n't an indication that the danger has lessened . `` There is no way of knowing what this tornado season will bring , but the way to survive is through preparedness , '' said Ed Ferguson , deputy director of the National Severe Storms Forecast Center in Kansas City . Meteorologists have attributed the decline in tornado deaths in recent years to increased public awareness of the storms , which are most common in May and June but can occur in any month of the year . Unusually warm and wet weather last November helped trigger a record number of tornadoes for that month , at 121 across the country . The average for November is only 23 tornadoes , and the record had been 81 , set in 1973 . Last year also recorded the largest tornado outbreak in 14 years . That took place on Mother 's Day when 57 twisters tore through parts of Arkansas , Illinois , Iowa and Wisconsin . That outbreak did n't cause any deaths , although 10 injuries were reported . Arkansas and Tennessee recorded the most fatalities last year with six deaths apiece , followed by Florida with five . Four people were killed in North Carolina and two each in Mississippi and Nebraska . States with a single fatality apiece were Kentucky , Michigan , Missouri , New York , Oklahoma , South Carolina and Texas . The transition from winter to spring , spurring unsettled weather and frequent thunderstorms , helps create tornadoes , violently twisting winds that reach down from thunderclouds . After a low point in the winter they begin to increase sharply in March and peak in May with a national average of 166 twisters in that month , according to records kept at the National Climatic Data Center . June ranks second , averaging 150 tornadoes , followed by April with 109 in a typical year . Other months averaging more than a twister-a-day somewhere in the nation are July , 82 ; August , 57 ; March , 50 and September , 38 . Hot weather stirring the air helps form thunderstorms and their tornadoes , with 60 percent of all twisters occurring between noon and sunset , according to the National Center for Atmospheric Research . Tornadoes are least likely during the early morning just before sunrise . The typical tornado is only about 50 yards wide and travels about two miles on the ground _ 87 percent of the time heading toward the northeast , NCAR researchers report . But while an individual twister can cover only a small area , they often come in groups and in the affected area destruction can be total . The familiar funnel cloud is the most common sign of a tornado although adjacent winds can also cause severe damage . When twisters are in an area , common sense and knowing a few simple rules can save lives , the National Weather Service says . If tornadoes threaten , turn on radio or television to keep current on the danger , the agency says . The weather service even has its own radio network which can provide continual updates . If a twister is reported , safety rules include : _ At home , seek shelter immediately in a basement or interior hallway . Stay away from windows and outside walls . _ At school , move to hallways and lie flat on the floor with head covered . _ In a mobile home or trailer , leave immediately . Head for a secure shelter or lie flat on the ground . Be wary of areas with poor drainage , however , because of the possibility of flooding from the thunderstorm . _ At work or in public buildings , head for interior hallways on the lowest floor , or designated shelter areas . _ In an automobile , leave immediately . Do not try to outrun a tornado .

O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O B I O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

tornadoes
tornado deaths
tornado outbreak
public awareness
storms
tornado season
fatality


Canadians were shamed , angry and saddened Tuesday that national hero Ben Johnson was stripped of his Olympic gold medal for using drugs to enhance his performance . `` I feel terribly sad for him , '' said Fergus Kilmartin , 36 , of Coquitlam , British Colombia . `` I do n't believe he did it on purpose . He has n't got the guile to do that . '' A disappointed nation awaited the return of the sprinter after a urine sample was found to contain traces of anabolic steroids . Canada 's sole gold medal went to American Carl Lewis , who finished second in the 100-meter dash . `` It puts a dent in Canada , '' said Scott Shaw , a 10th grade student in Calgary , Alberta , said Tuesday . Prime Minister Brian Mulroney , who had thanked the Jamaican-born runner for the `` thrill of a lifetime '' after his record-breaking 9.79-second performance Saturday , called the drug scandal `` a moment of great sorrow for all Canadians . '' Sports Minister Jean Charest , who called the incident `` a national embarrassment , '' said Johnson will be banned from Canada 's national team for life . Charest said his government accepted the validity of the tests and the suspension would be effective pending an appeal from Johnson . But Johnson 's family was left confused and outraged by the turn of events . `` My brother is not guilty , '' a distaught Rodney told reporters in her yard in the Toronto suburb of Rexdale . `` If you could cut him into a million pieces and test him over again _ my brother is not on drugs . '' Outside the townhouse , police were called in to control the crowd and the traffic . Throughout Monday evening , local children attempted to raise a chorus of `` Ben ! Ben ! Ben ! '' only to give up when the crowd would not respond . `` We 've just seen the destruction of a role model , '' said former downhill skier Ken Read , of Calgary , now Canada 's representative on the International Olympic Committee 's athletics commission . It was the second shock to national sports fans in recent months . In August , fans were outraged when hockey legend Wayne Gretzky , another national hero , was traded from the Edmonton Oilers to the Los Angeles Kings . Some Canadian athletes expressed sympathy for Johnson . Mike Sokowski , a teammate at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles , said : `` Ben 's a pretty simple guy . Ben does not do drugs . He did not knowingly do this . '' Canadian speedskater Gaetan Boucher judged the sprinter harshly , saying he has `` no respect '' for an athlete who takes drugs . Boucher won two gold medals at the 1984 Winter Games in Sarajevo , Yugoslavia . Charest acknowledged that it was suggested to him several months ago that Johnson might be using steroids . `` From time to time people would come to me in a private way _ and this happened one or two times ... that maybe Ben Johnson is using steroids or other drugs , '' he said . He said the allegations came from no one officially connected with the Olympic team and that he had heard similar , unfounded allegations about other atheletes in the past . Johnson was last tested in Canada in February at a Montreal laboratory . Charest said he did n't press Johnson to have a drug test because he thought the sprinter was aware that medal winners at the Olympics would be tested for drugs immediately following competition . `` Everybody knew in advance that Mr. Johnson , if he wins a medal , was going to be tested , '' said Charest .

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ben johnson
canadians
olympic gold medal
sprinter
anabolic steroids
drug scandal
disappointed nation
american carl lewis


Shining Path guerrillas , who started their bloody uprising in the mountains eight years ago , are moving into the shantytowns that encircle the capital like a noose . Abimael Guzman , founder of the rebel movement , has said of the slums and their people : `` The immense masses of the shantytowns are like belts of steel that lock in the enemy and hold back his reactionary forces . '' His Maoist rebels , once secretive fanatics , are becoming a political force that seeks public support in Huaycan and the other makeshift communities where two-thirds of Lima 's 7 million people scrape along . About 10,000 people live in Huaycan . Their huts built of straw mats line the bone-dry slopes of the Andean foothills 15 miles east of downtown Lima . Most residents are poor migrants from the violent highlands where the rebel movement was born . They make ideal recruits for the Shining Path _ Sendero Luminoso in Spanish . Shining Path 's move into a more public role , and through most of Peru from its Andean base in Ayacucho province , has coincided with economic collapse and annual inflation of nearly 2,000 percent . In the cities , the guerrillas combine conventional politics with terror . In the countryside , they make ever-bolder attacks on the military . Rebel columns strike along the spine of the Andes from the Ecuadorean frontier in the north to Bolivia in the south . The guerrillas also work with drug traffickers in Peru 's eastern jungle , source of the raw material for much of the world 's cocaine , and buy sophisticated weapons with the profits . More than 12,000 people have been killed in the civil war , most of them Andean peasants slain by rebels or security forces , and official figures put damage to the shattered economy at $ 10 billion . The guerrillas are believed to have only about 5,000 armed combatants , so they do not appear close to seizing power , but there is increasing pessimism about the prospects of controlling them . `` Most evaluations of Sendero Luminoso 's eight-year expansion under the democratic system ... have become increasingly grim , '' the Andean Report , a respected economic journal , said recently . One reason the movement grows is its appeal to Peru 's Indians , subjected for centuries to scorn and discrimination by the white ruling elite . `` Political violence in Peru is not the result of poverty alone but of humiliation , oppression , hate between classes , racism , '' Sen. Enrique Bernales , chairman of a committee on violence , said when it released a report in September . The most striking development of the last 18 months has been the Shining Path 's move into public view in this grimy capital on South America 's Pacific coast . Rebels organize support groups in the slums , infiltrate labor unions , organize marches , spread their message of revolution with the aid of a sympathetic daily newspaper and agitate among university students . Analysts and experts on counterinsurgency say Shining Path appears bent on dominating the radical left of legal politics . Officials have become alarmed by the broadening of tactics to include infiltration of legitimate organizations , including unions of government workers . They say this clouds distinctions between the legal and illegal left , making it move difficult to combat the rebel movement . `` Sendero is seeking semi-legal status as a way of winning militants and sympathizers , while at the same time generating a confusing situation in which the security forces indiscrimately repress members of the legal left along with leftist insurgents , '' a ranking police official said privately . Guzman , a Marxist philosophy professor , founded Sendero Luminoso in 1970 in Ayacucho , an Andean state capital 230 miles southeast of Lima where he had built a following at the University of Huamanga . Followers call Guzman , 54 , `` the fourth sword of Marxism '' after Marx , Lenin and Mao . His movement , a splinter group of the Communist Party , gathered strength in Indian communities of the southern Andes for 10 years before launching its guerrilla war . According to counterinsurgency experts , the guerrillas switched their emphasis to the cities because migration of Indian peasants to urban centers accelerated after the highlands became a battlefield . Guzman 's guerrillas have followed tens of thousands of peasants from the Andes into Lima 's shantytowns and see the slums as a new stronghold . In July , the pro-Shining Path newspaper El Diario published a 48-page report on the guerrilla movement . It quoted Guzman as saying in his first interview since going underground in 1980 : `` We had to follow the road from the countryside to the city . We must prepare for the insurrection that is coming , which means the taking of the cities . '' He said conditions were ripe for the next stage in the struggle for power : inciting a coup against President Alan Garcia by provoking economic chaos and increasing attacks on the army . The final stage , he said , would be a popular uprising against a repressive military regime . Shining Path has infiltrated 167 unions and neighborhood associations in the Lima slums this year , says a confidential Interior Ministry report obtained by The Associated Press . Guerrillas threaten and sometimes kill community leaders , establish `` people 's schools '' and set up `` street theaters '' for propaganda , it said . Cardinal Juan Landazuri of the Roman Catholic Church said : `` Priests tell me that young people in the shantytowns are going over to Sendero . I have been in a shantytown where there is a Shining Path group , and the police are doing nothing about it . '' Huaycan is one of the slums where Shining Path works hardest because it is just off the Central Highway , a strategic route through the capital 's main industrial zone to the mountains . The industrial zone contains 850 of the country 's most important factories . Red-painted slogans hailing the `` People 's War '' and `` President Gonzalo , '' the rebel name for Guzman , cover the concrete-block clinic , other buildings with solid walls and even large rocks . Residents were suspicious and uncommunicative when an Associated Press reporter visited , except for three 10-year-old boys at the entrance who laughed and waved red flags with the Shining Path 's hammer-and-sickle emblem . The Central Highway passes through what looks like a military zone . Most factories are behind high walls topped with barbed wire and towers from which guards with automatic rifles keep watch . Guerrillas killed three plant managers in 1988 who were involved in labor disputes . Union leaders also are uneasy . `` I doubt if you 'll find any union leader ... who will declare he is a Senderista , but I 'll bet you 'll find many who are afraid to say anything against Sendero , '' an American labor adviser said on condition of anonymity . The highway ties Lima to the agricultural lands of the central Andes and Peru 's most important mines , where unions threatened by the Shining Path have conducted a strike since late October that costs millions of dollars a day in export earnings . End Adv for Sun Jan 8

B I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O B I O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

shining path guerrillas
shantytowns
rebel movement
political force
huaycan
political violence
public support
central highway


Some of this year 's drought in the Midwest may have been caused by ocean temperature abnormalities near the equator in the Pacific Ocean , according to a new computer study reported Thursday . Such droughts could be anticipated if the temperature abnormalities turn out to be predictable , one of the authors said in the report appearing in Friday 's issue of Science magazine . The authors are Kevin E. Trenberth and Grant W. Branstator of the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder , Colo. , and Phillip A. Arkin of the Climate Analysis Center of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Camp Springs , Md. . They noted that when asked what caused the drought that hit much of North America in 1988 , meteorologists often reply `` the jet stream was displaced northward of its usual position so that storms , which tend to track along the path of the jet stream , were similarly displaced northward . '' `` Such an answer is , however , just a brief description of the weather patterns associated with the drought but does not get at the cause . A more satisfying response would address why the jet stream was displaced northward , '' the team wrote . Their proposed answer focuses on the development in April , May and June of drought in the Midwest , where several states recorded less rain than at any time since 1895 . By July the weather pattern they studied was breaking up , and continuing dryness in the study area and elsewhere probably had other causes , Arkin said . But during the April-June period there were alternating high and low pressure centers across much of the northern half of the Western Hemisphere : A high-pressure center north of Hawaii , a low in the Gulf of Alaska , a high in central Canada extending down into the northern Great Plains states and a low on the East Coast . In this period , Pacific Ocean temperatures ranged up to 5.4 degrees Fahrenheit below normal in a narrow band extending about 4,000 miles along the equator westward from the coast of South America , with the coolest spot midway along the band . At the same time , a bit to the north of this band , surface temperatures ranged up to 0.9 degrees above normal . When this temperature pattern was fed into the computer , the pattern of stationary alternating high and low pressure systems was reproduced . The below-normal equatorial temperature by itself did not give such a result . `` We have n't proved anything ; all we 've done is shown that it 's a possibility , '' Arkin said . The global atmosphere is so complicated that repeated running of a more detailed computer model would be needed to show that these abnormal temperatures are likely to be associated with drought , he said . If the model holds up , the work will be the first demonstration of tropical sea surface temperatures affecting weather outside the tropics in the summer , Arkin said . The authors took note of computer models predicting increased frequency of drought with the buildup of the `` greenhouse effect '' global warming caused by accumulation of gases like carbon dioxide in the atmosphere . `` The greenhouse effect may tilt the balance such that conditions for droughts and heat waves are more likely , but it can not be blamed for an individual drought , '' they said .

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droughts
midwest
ocean temperature abnormalities
atmospheric research
weather patterns
pacific ocean temperatures
new computer study
temperature abnormalities


A death squad opposed to the Shining Path guerrillas has threatened to kill a district attorney if he investigates charges that soldiers massacred dozens of peasants , his office said Tuesday . Police said members of Shining Path , a Maoist group , killed two policemen and wounded three in jungle raids . The Rodrigo Franco Command , which has vowed to kill a Shining Path member or sympathizer for every person slain by guerrillas , issued the threat against District Attorney Carlos Escobar on Monday , according to his office in Andean city of Ayacucho . Escobar is investigating charges that troops rounded up dozens of peasants , accused them of being Shining Path members and killed them . The alleged massacre occurred in May near Cayara , a farming village 40 miles south of Ayacucho . Officials said the rebel raids occurred Sunday , at a police post and telephone relay station near the jungle city of Pucallpa , 325 miles northeast of Lima . Shining Path guerrillas began fighting eight years ago . The government says more than 15,000 people have been killed and puts the property damage at $ 10 billion . The Rodrigo Franco group is named for an official of the government party killed the Shining Path killed last year . It became known in July when it claimed responsibility for killing the lawyer for Osman Morote . He is suspected of being the Shining Path second-in-command and is in jail on terrorism charges .

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rodrigo franco command
osman morote
property damage
shining path guerrillas
death squad
district attorney carlos escobar
rebel raids
police post


A study has found that the U.S. death toll from a major hurricane could be far worse than previously predicted , the head of the National Hurricane Center said Tuesday to mark the opening of the 1988 Atlantic storm season . Recently completed hurricane coastal flood models for the Atlantic and Gulf coasts show that many more people than earlier thought must be evacuated under certain conditions , said center director Bob Sheets . Forty-three million people live in about 175 coastal counties from Maine to Texas , and evacuating crowded urban areas and barrier islands is virtually impossible , Sheets said . There are not enough shelters to handle the added load and there are serious concerns how new glass-windowed high-rises would fare if lashed by hurricane-force winds during evacuations , he said . During a hurricane that struck Houston , `` glass was flying everywhere , '' said Sheets . He refused to make predictions about the 1988 hurricane season , saying no one has convinced forecasters they can reliably predict the number and severity of storms . The first tropical depression of the year has formed , and remained stationary Tuesday night just south of the western tip of Cuba , or about 200 miles southwest of Havana . The system contained winds of up to 30 mph and was not expected to strengthen . One of the two satellites used to keep track of hurricanes could fail this year , forecasters said . `` It 's quite possible this year that we could lose GOES-West at anytime , '' hurricane specialist Bob Case said of the Geo-Stationary Earth-Orbiting Environmental Satellite , which records atmospheric conditions over the Pacific Ocean and part of the Western Hemisphere . If that satellite does stop working , GOES-East would have to be directed to move from its equatorial orbit over Brazil to a spot south of the Texas Gulf Coast , where it would provide a view of the Western Hemisphere with limited vision in the hurricane-spawning eastern Atlantic , he said . A previous GOES-East expired in 1984 and temporarily deprived meteorologists of Atlantic atmospheric photographs . A typical Atlantic hurricane season , from June 1 to Nov. 30 , has 10 named tropical storms with rain and maximum sustained wind exceeding 39 mph , six of which become hurricanes with drenching rain and wind over 74 mph , Case said . In 1987 there were only three hurricanes and four tropical storms in the Atlantic . Hurricane Emily slammed into the Dominican Republic on Sept. 22 , causing three deaths with wind gusts up to 110 mph . It recovered enough punch to belt Bermuda with 116 mph wind three days later . `` Emily was the fastest moving hurricane of any known in this century , '' Case said . Hurricane Arlene meandered through the Atlantic in mid-August with top wind of 75 mph . Hurricane Floyd hit Key West with 75 mph wind but fizzled out over the Everglades and Miami in mid-October . Here are the names to be given to Atlantic tropical storms that could grow into hurricanes this season : Alberto , Beryl , Chris , Debby , Ernesto , Florence , Gilbert , Helene , Isaac , Joan , Keith , Leslie , Michael , Nadine , Oscar , Patty , Rafael , Sandy , Tony , Valerie and William .

O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I I O O O O O O O O O B I I O O O B I I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O B I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

hurricanes
national hurricane center
atlantic storm season
typical atlantic hurricane season
hurricane coastal flood models
coastal counties
first tropical depression
forecasters

u.s. death toll
hurricane-force winds
goes-west


As Hurricane Gilbert 's record-breaking fury sends Caribbean islanders scrambling for cover , National Hurricane Center Director Bob Sheets remained calm at his helm . The barometric pressure at the storm 's center plummeted to 26.13 inches at 5:58 p.m. EDT Tuesday night , making Gilbert the most intense hurricane ever recorded in the Western Hemisphere in terms of barometric pressure , but Sheets handled a mob of reporters with ease . `` I 've flown into 200 hurricanes . ... I really do n't think this is difficult , '' he said . With his schedule of interviews timed to the minute , Sheets spent most of Tuesday on the sixth floor of hurricane headquarters beside a large monitor showing the destructive Gilbert in full color sprawled across much of the western Caribbean . Rosy-cheeked and good-natured , Sheets was named acting director during the 1987 Atlantic hurricane season and became director in March . The transition from former director Neil Frank , widely known for his distinctive style and flat-top haircut , to Sheets , his dark blond hair carefully coiffed and wearing a bright pink shirt with a gray wool-blend jacket , has been smooth . `` He knows his job very well and he 's a calm personality , '' Vivian Jorge , the center 's budget analyst , said of Sheets . On days with especially active tropical weather , Ms. Jorge steps in to coordinate media interviews . Interest in Gilbert has been high since it started packing hurricane-force winds last weekend and by Tuesday night became a Category 5 storm with winds of 175 mph . A Category 5 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale of strength has the potential for causing catastrophic damage with winds in excess of 155 mph and pressure below 27.17 inches . Gilbert has been compared to the Labor Day hurricane of 1935 , which slammed into the Florida Keys and killed 408 people , and Hurricane Camille , which devastated the Mississippi coast in 1969 , killing 256 _ the only other Category 5 storms to hit land this century . The last major hurricane to make landfall was Elena in 1985 , along the Mississippi , Alabama and Florida Panhandle . The major television networks , local stations and print media were on hand to monitor the hurricane . The center 's 33-member crew , including seven hurricane forecasters and specialists , are keeping a close watch on the hurricane in a large , open roomful of blue monitors flickering with graphics . And while Sheets might appear to spend most of his day with tiny microphones snaking down his back and fielding media questions , he also writes most of the hurricane advisories issued every three hours and makes hurricane forecasts . Dealing with a major hurricane is n't much different from dealing with smaller ones or tropical storms , Sheets said , adding that Gilbert has been particularly `` well-behaved . '' `` It does what we think it 's going to do , '' he said . `` You feel a lot more confident about what you 're doing than with weaker systems . '' His previous experience with hurricanes has served him well in keeping off the pressure during these sometimes 18-hour days . `` I 've done this for 25 years so at one stage you 're prepared to do it or not . ... I do n't feel a lot of pressure , '' said Sheets , while eating lunch . Sheets said he remains in touch with his predecessor , Frank , but did n't get any special advice from his friend on dealing with his high-visibility post at the hurricane center here . What 's Frank , now a television forecaster for Texas station KHOU-TV , doing now ? `` He 's getting geared up in Houston , '' said Sheets with a smile .

O B I O O O O O O O O O O B I I O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O B I O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I I O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

hurricane gilbert
national hurricane center
barometric pressure
intense hurricane
western hemisphere
destructive gilbert
category 5 hurricane
catastrophic damage


The new year ushers in a new wildfire season , an unwelcome thought to the residents of this small Montana tourist town on the northeastern corner of Yellowstone National Park . For two months last summer the citizens of Cooke City and its tiny suburb , Silver Gate , were showcased on the nightly TV news and splashed across the front pages of the nation 's newspapers as forest fires threatened to burn them out . Pinched between the Storm Creek and Clover-Mist blazes , an estimated 150 seasonal residents and dozens of tourists were evacuated twice while hundreds of firefighters faced down walls of flame which threatened annihilation . Eventually , millions of dollars , thousands of man hours , and an early autumn snowfall saved the towns . No structures were lost within the towns ' boundaries , but seven residences and five outbuildings were destroyed in the area . One wag even changed the sign leading into town by adding a single letter , rechristening it `` Cooked City . '' Their economically critical summer tourist season a bust and the hunting season crippled , the folks of Silver Gate and Cooke City straggled home in mid-September to pick up the pieces . `` The first thing most people around here did was go on vacation , '' said Patti Smith , owner with her husband , Bob , of the Bearclaw Service and Cabins , a gas station and small motel . `` The fire really took a toll on a lot of folks . `` Business was way down this fall because we did n't have the hunters , but we got a lot of curious weekenders from Cody and Billings who wanted to see how bad it was . '' The Smiths , who own the only photocopy machine for 30 miles in every direction , found their small gas station and convenience store a mecca during the fires . The U.S. Forest Service , which coordinated some of its firefighting efforts from Cooke City , set up shop near the photocopy machine , and everybody who had information or was seeking some crammed into the Smiths ' log cabin office . `` It was crazy for a while , '' said Mrs. Smith , 33 . `` We got sent out twice . The first time I grabbed all the photo albums but forgot our wedding pictures . The second time the sirens went off and we had to leave , my parents had just arrived from North Platte , Neb. , so we all went to Red Lodge -LRB- Mont. -RRB- , got nice motel rooms , and crashed . '' Winter now cloaks Cooke City and Silver Gate , and only about 70 year-round residents remain to weather the below-zero months . The only grocery store is on its winter schedule , open just Friday through Monday , and many curio shops are shut up tight , but the Bearclaw cabins and most of the other motels are open for winter sports enthusiasts . Although postmistress Vicky Menuey keeps the office open five days a week , mail only arrives to ZIP code 59020 from the outside world on Mondays , Wednesdays , and Fridays . Nearly four feet of snow has piled up against the Smiths ' cabins and `` that 's just the way I like it , '' exulted Mrs. Smith . `` No smoke , no flames , and plenty of tourists . '' It 's snowmobiling season now , and clubs from as far away as Canada and Illinois are booked into Cooke City 's motels to take advantage of the beautiful scenery and 80 miles of trails in the area . The state pays Bob Smith , 34 , to groom the trails . Because of the heavy day use , Smith works mostly at night in subzero temperatures . His wife keeps track of him by walkie-talkie . Patti Smith relishes the winter months because she gets caught up on chores , chats with her neighbors and watches videos . The hottest tape in Cooke City this winter is `` Three Men and a Baby , '' for which there 's a waiting list . This winter , Mrs. Smith also has a new project . `` I 'm going to do my scrapbooks , '' she said , hauling out from underneath a counter a huge cardboard box overflowing with newspaper clippings and official fire bulletins , among them a firefighters ' newsletter , `` The Griz Gazette , '' purporting to have spotted Elvis Presley on the fire line . `` I 've got the whole story right here in this box , '' said the amateur historian . `` Of course , a lot of it is wrong . '' Like nearly everybody else in Cooke City and Silver Gate , Mrs. Smith says she never wants to go through another summer like the last one . Nationwide , it was the second worst wildfire season since the government started keeping records . Although the 5.9 million acres burned in 1988 did not match the 28 million acres destroyed in 1926 , the $ 583.8 million spent to fight 75,000 fires set a record . Because of the unprecedented fire season which burned nearly 1.5 million acres in the greater Yellowstone ecosystem , including 705,000 acres within the national park , Mrs. Smith and her friends and neighbors worry about what 's happening underneath the blanket of snow this winter . `` Are there still smoldering embers out there deep in the roots of the trees ? '' wondered Mrs. Smith . `` Could the fires survive the winter and pick up and come at us again ? '' Park officials and fire experts have asked themselves the same questions . Rod Norum , a fire behavior analyst with the National Park Service , said he would not be surprised if pockets of fire are found in the greater Yellowstone area come spring . `` It 's not the sort of thing to be concerned about , it would only be a matter of curiosity and interest because the fires are still under suppression orders and they would be mopped up and put out immediately , I 'm sure , '' said Norum , who is based at the Boise Interagency Fire Center in Idaho . In his 18 years of studying wildfires , Norum has come across several incidents where wildfires buried themselves in the roots of trees and grasses and smoldered all winter only to pop up through the snow in the spring . When the snow melts in May , the Yellowstone country will provide an answer to a question troubling lots of people whose lives were changed by the wildfires of ' 88 .

O O O O O O B I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I I O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

new wildfire season
yellowstone national park
forest fires
firefighting efforts
unprecedented fire season
yellowstone ecosystem


A single-engine airplane crashed Tuesday into a ditch beside a dirt road on the outskirts of Albuquerque , killing all five people aboard , authorities said . Four adults and one child died in the crash , which witnesses said occurred about 5 p.m. , when it was raining , Albuquerque police Sgt. R.C. Porter said . The airplane was attempting to land at nearby Coronado Airport , Porter said . It aborted its first attempt and was coming in for a second try when it crashed , he said . State police said the red-and-white Cessna P210 , which seats six people , was from Salt Lake City . Identities of the victims were not immediately available . The bodies were taken to the Office of the Medical Investigator in Albuquerque . Walter Ramazzini Jr. , 17 , of Albuquerque , said he was sitting about 100 yards from the airplane when it crashed . `` He was going east , making a left turn from the airport , '' Ramazzini said . `` A gust of wind hit him from right to left . `` He did three banks . The wind made him bank to the left 30 degrees or so . To correct for that , he banked right and he kept going and passed level flight as if to turn right , '' Ramazzini said . `` To correct again for that , he went again to the left ... and went nose-first into the ground , '' said Ramazzini , a student pilot . `` He hit the ground and cartwheeled over . `` All I saw was a puff of smoke , '' he said . The airplane `` was n't very high _ maybe 100 feet , '' Ramazzini said . `` The weather was gusty and showery . It was sprinkling . '' He said he was among the first four people at the crash site . `` We went up there and there was nobody alive , '' Ramazzini said . `` You could smell fuel . We were looking for fire extinguishers . '' He said the witnesses thought the airplane might blow up , so they retreated . Firefighters arrived later and sprayed the crumpled airplane with water before rescue crews removed the bodies from the craft . National Transportation Safety Board investigators were en route to the crash site to conduct an investigation with the Federal Aviation Administration .

O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O B O O O O O O

crash site
crumpled airplane
investigation
rescue crews
albuquerque
victims
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