Fire troubles may get worse
2008-06-30 09:30
San Francisco - Firefighters made slow progress on Sunday against more than a thousand wildfires burning throughout Northern California, but forecasters said dangerous fire conditions would not relent anytime soon.
No new major fires had broken out by Sunday morning as fire crews inched closer to getting some of the largest blazes surrounded, according to the state Office of Emergency Services.
But a "red flag warning" - meaning the most extreme fire danger - was still in effect for Northern California until 05:00 on Monday. And the coming days and months are expected to bring little relief.
Forecasters predicted more thunderstorms and dry lightning through the weekend, similar to the ones that ignited hundreds of fires a week ago.
Meanwhile, a US Forest Service report said the weather would get even drier and hotter as fire season headed toward its traditional peak in late July and August.
Lower-than-average rainfall and record levels of parched vegetation likely mean a long, fiery summer throughout Northern California, according to the Forest Service's state fire outlook released last week.
The fires burning now could take weeks or months to bring under full control, the report said.
Those blazes were mostly sparked by lightning storms that were unusually intense for so early in the season. But summer storms would probably be even fiercer, according to the Forest Service.
The blazes have scorched more than 1 424 square kilometres and destroyed more than 50 buildings, said Gregory Renick, state emergency services spokesperson.
On Saturday, President Bush issued an emergency declaration for California and ordered federal agencies to assist in firefighting efforts.
But California officials said the federal declaration doesn't go far enough. State and local governments need federal financing to cover their "extraordinary costs in fighting these fires," said Henry Renteria, director of the state Office of Emergency Services.
- AP