Milford Flats fire update

This fire is what's on the news here in Utah, every network and every news program. Hey, its over 500 square miles that has been burnt or is still burning. Firefighters have been brought in from all over the country. As the fire begins to wind down, the economic impact is beginning to be considered by everyone affected, principally the ranchers that have lost unknown numbers of cattle and huge amounts of their grazing lands, not only for the immediate months but for the next couple of years as the land gets reseeded and regrown.

And one truck driver needs a new truck-  For 15 years, Fred Gonzales has trucked the nation's interstates. He told us, "I've seen a truck crash right in front of my eyes. I've seen snow squalls where you couldn't see right in front of you for miles and miles, but I've never seen anything like I've seen on 7-7 of ‘07."

What he saw on that supposedly lucky day was the Milford Flat fire, a solid wall of smoke across I-15. Gonzales pulled out his cell phone and snapped some pictures. "There wasn't anybody telling me nothing, to come through, nor to stop, nothing," he says.

Gonzales drove into the cloud of soot and smoke, and it quickly became a dangerous ride. "The fire was coming out of everywhere. I was just hoping the truck wouldn't die on me while I was going through the flames, and it didn't," he says.

With his truck on fire, Gonzales had no choice than to push ahead. Amazingly, he escaped without injury while his diesel was consumed by flames. He says, "I guess I was lucky ‘cuz I'm still alive. My truck wasn't so lucky."

Make sure to look at all the pictures, they tell quite a tale.
http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=1465602