[CPEO-MEF] Blaze heats Fort Ord

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California
THE CALIFORNIAN
Blaze heats Fort Ord
700-acre fire a danger at ex-military base
July 18, 2003

The Monterey Bay Unified Air Pollution Control District on Thursday
night issued an air-quality warning and said people with respiratory
ailments, young children and older adults should limit their exposure to
smoky air by staying indoors as much as possible. Windows and doors
should be kept closed to prevent indoor air from becoming as
contaminated as outdoor air. Information: 647-9411 or 755-4525.

A fire burning through more than 700 acres of dry brush at the former
Fort Ord on Thursday confronted 134 firefighters not only with fire and
smoke but the perils of unexploded ordnance at the old military base.

The blaze began about 3:15 p.m., and by 10:45 p.m. was only 10 percent
contained with no estimate of when firefighters, working through the
night, would fully containing it, said California Department of Forestry
spokeswoman Cheryl Goetz.

The fire was initially confined to the military's so-called impact area
Thursday evening, but firefighters couldn't approach it due to exploding
shells, and the flames crossed Barloy Canyon road, spreading onto Bureau
of Land Management grounds, she said.

"The impact area is where all the unexploded ordinances are," Goetz
said. "They (firefighters) kind of (had) to stand back and hope they
(could) contain the fire by keeping it in the impact area."

She said a lot of old shells were exploding and likened the sound to
rapid gunfire.

This article can be viewed at:
http://www.californianonline.com/news/stories/20030718/localnews/599572.html

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