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One dead, thousands flee as fires erupt across California
2008-10-14
One person was killed and thousands were evacuated as a series of wind-driven wildfires swept across California, forcing firefighters onto the defensive as they scrambled to halt the flames. Nearly one year after a devastating firestorm that left eight people dead and gutted more than 2,000 homes, California's fire season returned with a vengeance as scattered fires broke out from San Francisco to Los Angeles. The most serious incidents were twin blazes threatening homes in residential areas north of Los Angeles, where more than 1,000 firefighters were tackling flames bearing down on residential areas in the San Fernando Valley. At least 1,200 residents had been evacuated and dozens of mobile homes had been destroyed as hot desert gusts known as the Santa Ana winds whipped up a wall of flames, Los Angeles County Fire Department officials said. The fires ripped through nearly 10,000 acres (4,046 hectares) of tinder-dry brush and prompted authorities to issue mandatory evacuation orders for several neighborhoods as well the closure of several schools. California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency in the areas, urging residents to evacuate swiftly when asked. "Winds are causing fire conditions to change by the hour, which is why it is so important that residents in the areas surrounding these wildfires heed warnings from public safety officials to evacuate," he said. Los Angeles County coroner's official Ed Winter meanwhile said the first fatality of the wildfires appeared to be a homeless man living in a wood and cardboard shelter beneath a freeway interchange. The California Highway Patrol said a second fatality occurred when a car crashed on a smoke-shrouded stretch of freeway near one of the fires, a 5,000-acre blaze near the northern Los Angeles suburb of Porter Ranch. However, the exact cause of the crash was not clear. One longtime Porter Ranch resident who fled his home described smoke that was "so thick, you could cut it with a knife." "You couldn't breathe there," Randy Stalk told reporters. "It was horrible." The other fire threatening Los Angeles was blazing across 4,726 acres (1,910 hectares) in the Angeles National Forest. Eight neighborhoods had been issued with evacuation orders although officials were unable to say how many homes were affected. The fire was only five percent contained as fire crews backed by airborne water tankers, including struggled to get a grip on the flames in the face of ferocious gusts that sent the inferno leaping over containment lines. The flames sent thick clouds of black smoke belching across the area and had destroyed a total of 39 residences. The fire broke out early Sunday but its cause is unknown, fire department officials said. Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa told a 10 pm (0500 GMT Tuesday) briefing Monday that firefighters were bracing for a resurgence in strong winds overnight. "The bad news is they expect the winds to pick up about midnight and through until the morning," Villaraigosa said. Elsewhere in California, some 1,025 homes were ordered evacuated in the town of Oceanside, outside San Diego, as flames swept towards the sprawling US Marine Corps base of Camp Pendleton, officials said. The fire grew to around 500 acres (200 hectares) within two hours, and was bombarded by water-dropping aircraft as firefighters and military personnel were deployed to halt its advance. Meanwhile a spectacular fire on Angel Island State Park in San Francisco Bay tore through 400 acres (160 hectares) after breaking out late Sunday but was closed to being contained, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said. California is frequently hit by scorching wildfires due to its dry climate, Santa Ana winds and recent construction booms which have seen housing spread rapidly into rural and densely forested areas. Devastating wildfires in October 2007 were among the worst in California history, displacing 640,000 people and causing one billion dollars in damage. In June and July this year, a series of about 2,000 fires raged across the state, scorching some 900,000 acres (364,000 hectares) of land, according to officials.
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