European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - September 5, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Monday septembers 1988 the stars and stripes Page 5 Smoky wildfires polluting Idaho air head hampers firefighters of Iron Ghoul Wesley the associated prints smoke from Idaho s fires caused dangerous pollution saturday fires near Yellowstone National hark threat ened to merge and Burn into two Mon Tana town and firc fighters throughout the West battled mares in record or near record heat. About 25.iflo firefighters and sup port personnel arc battling the fires to the West which have burned nearly 3.6 million acres this summer said Mike Ferris spokesman at the Federal Boise inter Agency fire Center in Idaho. Idaho s air Quality i Urlau on sat urday placed the Southern pan of the stale under an air stagnation advisory because of Imilce visibility and air pol Lution caused by a pall of smoke from the Forest ores. The fires Are tunnelling smoke along the entire Snake River Valley said Bureau spokesman Orville Green the advisory banned outdoor burning and cautioned people with heart or respiratory ailments to remain inside or curtail activity. Authorities knocked on doors of More than 150 recreation Cabins threat ened by a Forest fire in the Island Park area of Idaho saturday afternoon warning residents to Start packing for a possible evacuation. In Montana Forest officials were concerned about two fires burning in Nigger Timber covered terrain just Over the Yellowstone Park Border. Officials said the Hill roaring and storm Creek fires in the Absaraka Uca tooth wild Frncis could merge soon and possibly Burn into Cooke City an Silver Gate mont., and the nearby Silver tip ranch. The fire s Edge was about three to 3 i Miles from the towns officials said. Residents were being advised of the situation but no recommendations had despite Smoky a lilt a tourist photographs old faithful in Yellowstone National Park been made to evacuate the towns. In West Yellowstone efforts to con tin a fire about a mile from she tourist Lawn were called a tentative Success. Firefighters near West Yellowstone also were watching a Finger of flame moving to within two Miles of the town. To Utah four air tankers and a Heli copter dropped chemical retard am on a 1,500-acre Brush fire saturday As flames moved to within 1,000 Yards of More than 50 Homes in Killyon Canyon East of sail Lake City. The Homes were among More than 70 evacuated in the area late Friday As High winds pushed names through heavy scrub Oak. Oregon officials hoped a forecast of lightning would t come True. They said the stale s parched forests and Range lands would erupt with new wildfires in lightning strikes. You could bet your House on it really said Don Ferguson a spokesman for the Mulli Agency fire command Center in Portland. Several heat records were set in West Ern Oregon Friday from 110 degrees in Medford to 105 in Portland. Readings above 100 degrees also were expected in Idaho and record temperatures were forecast this weekend in Washington. Fires burned saturday on about 15,000 acres in Washington. Despite Progress in battling the blazes officials feared the i Eccl of the heal. A 4,000-acre fire burning in washing ton s Colville National Forest jumped a Highway at Sherman pass and threatened a Power line saturday. Authorities closed the Highway and called in a special team of seasoned firefighters held in Reserve for exceptionally difficult blazes. Electricity restored to area in downtown Seattle Seattle a Utility Crews finally restored service saturday night to parts of a so Block Down town Section that had been without electricity since the Middle of the week but Seattle City Light officials asked customers notto turn on their air conditioning immediately out of fear of a surge of demand on one of the hottest Days of the year. The temperature in Seattle hit 92 degrees a record for the Dale the National weather service said. About half of the blacked Oul area s customers got electricity Back when four cables feeding Power to the area were reactivated about 6 45 p.m., Power company spokesman Jim Aguirre said. All of the customers were expected to be Back on line when two other feeder cables arc repaired and in place sunday or monday Aguirre said. Restrictions on Power use also were expected to end Hen he said. An initial attempt to energize the cables was unsuccessful when one of them refused to take Power and tripped a circuit breaker. The reason for the problem was not immediately known Aguiire said. Earlier in the Day the outage had officials worried about fires and the effect of the heat on the elderly. We re keeping an Eye on the heal situation and we re on Alert to Eva Cual people from housing for the elderly said Hope to talc Seattle King county red Cross spokeswoman. The High temperature Friday at Seattle Tacoma International Airport was a september record of 98, one degree below the All time record for that recording station and a similar Reading was forecast saturday. Since Power was lost in a transformer fire wednes Day the red Cross had been serving three meals a Day to 150 to 250 elderly residents. Volunteers had to take some meals up 13 flights of stairs in buildings where elevators were inoperative. Street lights but almost no traffic signals came on for the first Lime Friday night when temporary Over head wiring was hooked into the lighting system. Repair Crews hoped to begin restoring Power late saturday in a Complex process that would Likely extend into monday said City Light spokesman Scott fors Lund. Thirty buildings with the largest loads in the area and More than 90 others with emergency generators would remain off the system when Power is restored Forslun said. When the switch is thrown. City Light engineers plan to Waii two to four hours to assure that the system is stabilized before restoring service to the remaining buildings. The area typically accounts for roughly 3 percent of the City s 1,000-Megawatl Load. If too much equipment is turned on when the switch is thrown the sudden added Load will cause an abrupt voltage dip or Sag said Hugh Mclntosh chief spokes Man for City Light. It would be like half Lime during a Ball game when everyone flushes All the toilets and the water pressure drops he said a severe Sag could trip current monitoring equip ment and trigger another blackout. Tanker spills Oil into Mississippi River new Orleans up the cargo hold of an nil Tanker ruptured saturday spilling nearly 1 million Gal Lons of heavy Oil into the Mississippi River upstream from new Orleans the coast guard said. The spill did not threaten new Orleans area drink ing water supplies because the Oil is so heavy it Sank to the River Bottom coast guard it. Pal Calvin said. The River is nearly 200 feet deep at new Orleans and intake valves for water supplies arc near the surface. The Tanker Esso puerto Rico dragged Bottom about 10 Miles upstream from new Orleans ripping a in by 4-foot in the vessel s Hull Calvin said. The coast guard sent n pollution response team to the scene and slate officials were monitoring drinking water downstream from the site of the spill. There s a joint Agency agreement that we have in place for All sorts of pollution said coast guard spokesman Dan dwell. A scientific support coordinator who works with National oceanic and atmospheric administrations in the process now of running some computer profiles to figure out where this Oil might be  the Oil is owned by Exxon co in Houston which has contracted with three pollution control companies to assess possible cleanup procedures. The Tanker was bound from the Exxon Dock in Baton Rouge for Rotterdam Netherlands. Exxon is assuming responsibility for the cleanup Galvin said. J Sands or time in the stars and stripes 40 years ago today. Sept. 5, 1948 Senate investigators demanded that the state department reload the files on All for eign employees at the United nations who were suspected of involvement in communist activities in the United slates. 30 years ago today. Sept. 5, 1958 China announced an Extension of its territorial Waters to the 12-mile limit to include the islands of Quemoy arid Matsu. Both of which the nationalist chinese claimed. 20 years ago today. Sept. 5, 1968 after a special meeting of nato s defense planning committee the Western allies announced that military forces in Europe would be redirected due to the soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia. 10 years ago today. Sept. 5, 197s the nicaraguan National guard arrested 200 agitators in Managua and called on Busi Nesses to halt he strike aimed at the removal of presi Dent Anastasio Somoza