Firefighters Begin to Withdraw From Nickel Wildfire in Nevada

June 23, 2004
Firefighters were beginning to withdraw Wednesday from a 13-square-mile wildfire in the Virgin Mountains of southern Nevada and northwest Arizona, a federal official said.

BUNKERVILLE, Nev. (AP) -- Firefighters were beginning to withdraw Wednesday from a 13-square-mile wildfire in the Virgin Mountains of southern Nevada and northwest Arizona, a federal official said.

``We're confident it will be 100 percent contained by 8 o'clock tonight,'' said Dorothy Harvey, a Bureau of Land Management fire spokeswoman in Nevada.

Harvey said the 8,404-acre fire was 95 percent contained Wednesday morning, and said some firefighters were being reassigned to other fires around the West. On Tuesday, the number of firefighters at the Nickel fire grew to 492, aided by five helicopters.

``Everything is looking good,'' Harvey said Wednesday. ``The temperature was lower last night, and we might get help from thunderstorms and isolated showers later today.''

Two firefighters reported injuries _ one with a piece of debris in an eye, and another with heat exhaustion. Neither was seriously hurt, Harvey said.

No homes or structures were threatened since the fire started with a June 16 lightning strike in juniper and pine forests about 12 miles south of Mesquite.

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