Fighting the War Fires

Renowned oil firefighter RED ADAIR of Houston will join other American experts in battling the blazing oil fields of Kuwait. Adair, speaking on ABC’s “This Week with David Brinkley,” said he will leave for Saudi Arabia today but cannot begin fighting the fires until the war ends. President Bush accused Iraq of starting the hundreds of oil fires as part of a “scorched earth policy.” Adair didn’t say how much it would cost to put out the fires. He did say each fire could consume $1,000 worth of oil a minute and would take four to five days each to extinguish. He warned that soldiers won’t be able to get close to the fires. “That ground is going to be awful hot; it’s going to turn that sand into glass,” Adair said.