PBS高端访谈:消防队员试图开发防火线以保证民众安全

 　　JUDY WOODRUFF: Officials in Arizona say a wildfire that killed 19 firefighters yesterday has now destroyed more than 8,300 acres and engulfed¹ 13 square miles. It was the biggest loss of firefighters in a wildfire since 1933. They ranged in age from 21 to 43 years old.

　　The fire is still burning unchecked tonight, leaving crews to carry on their work with heavy hearts for their fallen colleagues.

　　Views from above showed orange flames consuming the Arizona skyline, as more than 400 firefighters tried to contain the Yarnell Hill fire, which has more than quadrupled in size since yesterday. Sparked by a lightning strike on Friday, it's located 85 miles northwest of Phoenix² and about an hour southwest of Prescott, which is home to the Granite³ Mountain Hot Shot firefighting crew seen here in a training video from 2012.

　　The city's fire department confirmed 19 of the elite⁴ team's 20 members died yesterday while battling the blaze. The surviving member was moving equipment at a different location. The bodies of the team were retrieved⁵ from the site today, a day after fire chief Dan Fraijo mourned those lost.

　　DAN FRAIJO, fire chief, Prescott, Ariz.: Fire departments are like families. And so the entire fire department, the entire area, the entire state is being devastated⁶ by the magnitude of this incident. These are the guys that will go out there with 40, 50 pounds of equipment and walk five miles. They will sleep out there as they try to develop fire lines and put protection between homes, natural resources and still try to remain safe. These are quality people.

　　JUDY WOODRUFF: Officials said in battling the flames the firefighters were forced to wrap themselves in tent-like shelters made of fire-resistant material like these seen in the training video, a last-ditch method used in hopes that the fire would burn over them; 19 roses were among the items left at a makeshift memorial outside Fire Station 7 in Prescott, where the Granite Mountain Hot Shot team is based.

　　This morning, Arizona State Forestry⁷ Division spokesman Mike Reichling said weather conditions continue to be erratic⁸.

　　MIKE REICHLING, Arizona State Forestry Division: This weather has really caused havoc⁹ on this fire with the types of fuels. As we said yesterday, the area has not been touched by fire for over 40 years. We have been in over a 10-year drought throughout the state.

　　JUDY WOODRUFF: Hundreds have been forced to leave their homes. One man described escaping with his wife as the fire moved in on their property.

　　CHUCK OVERMYER, survivor¹⁰: We had to drive through the flames to get out of our gate. It was already that bad.

　　Within two minutes -- I would say if we waited another two or three minutes, we wouldn't have got out of there. It was that fast coming in.

　　JUDY WOODRUFF: An investigation¹¹ is under way into the deaths of the firefighter.

　　President Obama issued a statement, calling the firefighters heroes and said his administration would help investigate how the deaths happened.

1 engulfed   

v.吞没，包住( engulf的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was engulfed by a crowd of reporters. 他被一群记者团团围住。
• The little boat was engulfed by the waves. 小船被波浪吞没了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 phoenix   

n.凤凰，长生(不死)鸟；引申为重生

参考例句：

• The airline rose like a phoenix from the ashes.这家航空公司又起死回生了。
• The phoenix worship of China is fetish worship not totem adoration.中国凤崇拜是灵物崇拜而非图腾崇拜。

3 granite   

adj.花岗岩，花岗石

参考例句：

• They squared a block of granite.他们把一块花岗岩加工成四方形。
• The granite overlies the older rocks.花岗岩躺在磨损的岩石上面。

4 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。

5 retrieved   

v.取回( retrieve的过去式和过去分词 )；恢复；寻回；检索（储存的信息）

参考例句：

• Yesterday I retrieved the bag I left in the train. 昨天我取回了遗留在火车上的包。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He reached over and retrieved his jacket from the back seat. 他伸手从后座上取回了自己的夹克。 来自辞典例句

6 devastated   

v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词)；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮adj.毁坏的；极为震惊的

参考例句：

• The bomb devastated much of the old part of the city. 这颗炸弹炸毁了旧城的一大片地方。
• His family is absolutely devastated. 他的一家感到极为震惊。

7 forestry   

n.森林学；林业

参考例句：

• At present, the Chinese forestry is being at a significant transforming period. 当前, 我国的林业正处于一个重大的转折时期。
• Anhua is one of the key forestry counties in Hunan province. 安化县是湖南省重点林区县之一。

8 erratic   

adj.古怪的，反复无常的，不稳定的

参考例句：

• The old man had always been cranky and erratic.那老头儿性情古怪,反复无常。
• The erratic fluctuation of market prices is in consequence of unstable economy.经济波动致使市场物价忽起忽落。

9 havoc   

n.大破坏，浩劫，大混乱，大杂乱

参考例句：

• The earthquake wreaked havoc on the city.地震对这个城市造成了大破坏。
• This concentration of airborne firepower wrought havoc with the enemy forces.这次机载火力的集中攻击给敌军造成很大破坏。

10 survivor   

n.生存者，残存者，幸存者

参考例句：

• The sole survivor of the crash was an infant.这次撞车的惟一幸存者是一个婴儿。
• There was only one survivor of the plane crash.这次飞机失事中只有一名幸存者。

11 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。