SoCal Fires Force Residents to Evacuate, Destroy Hundreds of Homes
Fire crews battling three stubborn blazes in Southern California that forced thousands of residents to flee and burned hundreds of homes are starting to get some help as winds taper off.
“It’s [the winds] much better now, they’ve settled down to a light breeze that greatly helps firefighting efforts,” said Michael Pigott, a meteorologist at AccuWeather.com in State College, Pennsylvania. Heat and dry air will still blanket the region for another few days, though the calmer winds ended red-flag warnings that signaled explosive fire potential, he said.
Fires in Southern California have forced more than 5,000 residents to flee, destroyed 929 homes and buildings, shut down some schools in Orange County and have cost $12.9 million to fight, according to local, state and federal statistics.
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency in Los Angeles, Riverside, Orange and Santa Barbara counties to free up state and federal funds to fight the fires. He said at a press conference this weekend that the state is spending $1.9 million a day just to position firefighting equipment such as helicopters.
The Triangle complex of fires in the towns of Anaheim, Brea, Corona and Yorba Linda were uncontained late yesterday, in an area ranging from 26 miles to 48 miles southeast of Los Angeles. The blazes have burned about 29,000 acres and destroyed 104 homes, including apartments and houses, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said on its Web site.
Some evacuated residents have started returning to their homes, said Angela Garbiso, a spokeswoman for the Orange County Fire Authority, which is based in Irvine. The cause of the fires is under investigation, she said.
Heavy smoke in the area has closed some schools, she said.
A second fire, the Sayre fire near Sylmar in the San Fernando Valley, has burned around 10,100 acres and was about 40 percent contained, the forestry and fire department said. The blaze closed parts of Interstate 5, a major route running the length of the West Coast from Mexico to Canada.
The third fire is 92 miles northwest of Los Angeles in the town of Montecito. It began Nov. 13 in the Los Padres National Forest and burned 1,940 acres. It was 80 percent contained after destroying 210 homes and damaging nine others.
Published on November 17, 2008
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