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FIRE <br /> Continued from C1 <br /> "Based on our findings, the <br /> public can rest at ease," Bello <br /> said. <br /> The fire started on the 54-acre <br /> property of Silas E Royster, known <br /> as the Tire 1Gng of Tracy, on the <br /> afternoon of Aug. 7. Sparks from <br /> weed-cutting equipment ignited a <br /> grass fire, which spread to <br /> Roystez's tire pile off of MacArthur <br /> Drive. <br /> Greco says the Reese-Chambers <br /> report was intended to depict a <br /> hypothetical worst-case scenario <br /> rather than the actual results of <br /> the Tracy tire fire itself. <br /> Environmental officials, however, <br /> wonder whether Modesto Energy <br /> is trying to capitalize on public <br /> outrage over the Tracy tire fire to <br /> alter state tire-disposal policies. <br /> The company would like to <br /> raise the state fees that go toward <br /> developing new uses for discarded <br /> tires, Greco admits. Currently, 25 <br /> cents from every new-tire pur- <br /> chase goes into a fund to help <br /> develop alternate uses for old <br /> tires. A recently passed bill <br /> extends that arrangement to 2001, <br /> records show. United American <br /> Energy officials would like to see <br /> those fees raised to be more in <br /> line with states that charge $1 to <br /> $1.50 per tire, Greco said. <br /> Modesto Energy burns 17,000 <br /> to 19,000 tires at its plant near <br /> Westley every day. <br /> But the prosperity of the com- <br /> pany is intertwined closely with the <br /> health of the overall environment, <br /> Greco maintains. United American <br /> Energy commissioned its report as <br /> a way to ensure that California, <br /> and by extension the company, is <br /> handling its tire situation in the <br /> most effective way possible. <br /> "Politically, we don't have any- <br /> thing to gain from this," Greco <br /> said of the report. "We just want <br /> to do what's best for everyone." <br />