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thedrifter
03-28-08, 08:43 AM
Fire breaks out near Camp Hansen range
By Cindy Fisher, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Saturday, March 29, 2008



CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa — A fire on Camp Hansen near Range 4 on Wednesday was doused by 10:30 a.m. Thursday, according to Marine officials.

Second Lt. Kurt Stahl, a Marine spokesman, said the fire was “due to scheduled range maintenance” and “never endangered the local populace.”

He said the fire was not a controlled burn.

Officials from Kin, the community outside Camp Hansen’s gates, plan to file an official protest, an official with the town’s military affairs office said.

“It was the fourth such fire this year that occurred following an explosion,” he said. “Residents spent an uneasy night as the mountain continued to burn almost until midnight while smoke, ashes and a burning smell covered the community.”

Kin Mayor Tsuyoshi Gibu was scheduled to lodge the protest during a visit Friday to the Naha Defense Bureau, the official said.

Marine firefighters contained the blaze Wednesday and extinguished it Thursday using helicopters, Stahl said.

The size of the area the fire burned was unavailable Thursday but “no significant damage resulted,” Stahl said.

Stars and Stripes reporter Chiyomi Sumida contributed to this report.

Ellie