Nasa drones out US fires

2008-07-15 19:06

Amanda Fehd

California - Fire crews battling nearly 300 blazes burning across California are getting help from a pilotless plane that transmits real-time images of hot spots and flare-ups to commanders in the field.

The unmanned drone developed by Nasa scientists discovered a hot flare-up in a canyon near the town of Paradise, prompting fire officials to issue evacuation orders for 10 000 people in Butte County last week. Thick smoke and heat had prevented other aircraft from patrolling the area.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger on Monday toured the Nasa Ames Research Center in Mountain View, where he credited the Nasa technology with saving lives and pushed an initiative to charge homeowners a fee to pay for emergency response equipment.

"This unmanned plane is a true life-saver. But even though we get all this terrific help, California needs more resources, there's no two ways about it," the governor said.

At least 288 blazes still burning

The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said 288 blazes were still burning around the state, most of them in the mountains ringing the northern edge of the Central Valley.

So far this fire season, flames have blackened about 3 367 square kilometers and destroyed about 100 homes across California. Most of the blazes were sparked by a lightning storm across the northern part of the state on June 21.

The current complex of fires is "the largest single fire event in history for California," said Kelly Houston, spokesman for the Governor's Office of Emergency Services.

The previous record was set in October 2003, when wildfires scorched more than 2 991 square kilometers, Houston said. State record-keeping on wildfires began in 1936.

The state defines a "fire event" as a grouping of blazes that fall within the same location or time period.

Strain on resources

While the October 2003 fires killed 24 people and destroyed more than 3 600 homes, Houston said officials point to acreage when quantifying wildfires to point to the strain on firefighting resources.

A massive wildfire in the Los Padres National Forest continued spreading northward and eastward on Monday, relieving the danger to the storied coastal town of Big Sur, but forcing residents of another community to stay away from their homes for a third day.

Mandatory and voluntary evacuation orders, first issued on Saturday morning, remained in place for more than 200 homes in the rural Cachagua community northeast of Big Sur. The blaze, which already has charred 487 square kilometers and destroyed 27 homes, was about 2.5 kilometers from the residential area, according to the US Forest Service.

Firefighters had a strong fire line there that they expected to hold, keeping the flames from reaching the more populated Carmel Valley, said Tacy Skinner, a Forest Service spokeswoman.

(additional writing by Juliana Barbassa in San Francisco)

- SAPA