aircraft & fire firegeezer on 29 Jun 2008 01:27 pm
Plane Crash Sets Brush Fire, Homes Threatened
A BRUSH FIRE WAS STARTED ABOUT 20 MILES NW OF LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, Saturday when a private airplane crashed onto a mountain.
CBS / Rick Plummer photo
The single-engine Piper Cherokee had four people on board and was flying from North Las Vegas to Byron, California, when it struck a power line and crashed. All four passengers perished when the plane hit and broke into flames at the 7,000 ft. level of Mt. Charleston.
CBS / Plummer
Fire officials say the fire spread and climbed the steep and parched terrain of the Spring Mountain Recreation Area and came within a half-mile of a housing subdivision. Bureau of Land Management spokeswoman Kirsten Cannon says nearly 40 homes are threatened by the 12-acre fire.
CBS / Plummer
Authorities have ordered an evacuation of the subdivision. They expect to fully contain the blaze by 6 p.m. Sunday.
Fox News has the STORY.
Las Vegas Channel 8 has a video REPORT.
