Wildfires: Residents going home

2008-11-18 19:44

Los Angeles - More residents were to return to their homes on Tuesday to survey the damage after wildfires tore through Southern California neighbourhoods, destroying hundreds of houses.

More than 500 people made the trip on Monday to Oakridge Mobile Home Park, a tight-knit community of manufactured homes that became a flattened field of blackened trees and twisted metal.

But they were not allowed to sift through the ruins as cadaver-sniffing dogs scoured the area to make sure no one had died in the blaze. After an exhaustive search, no bodies were found.

Residents whose homes were intact were allowed to quickly pick up clothes, toiletries, and other belongings under police escort.

Hundreds of other residents were expected to line up on Tuesday to get a chance to walk through the Sylmar park and see the devastation for themselves.

The fire at the park was one of three in Southern California that have destroyed nearly 1 000 homes and apartments and burned 17 000 hectares, or 170 square kilometres, forcing thousands to flee. The causes of all three were under investigation, although a human cause is suspected in a Santa Barbara County blaze.

Michael Hernandez pulled a charred photo album from the wreckage of his home, the plastic pages melted and flaking after a wildfire tore through the mobile home park where he lived with his grandparents and seven-year old daughter. It was one of a handful of keepsakes Hernandez was able to rescue Monday during a police-escorted tour.

"We came here with a little hope and we walked around and pretty much everything's ruined," said Hernandez, a 32-year old artist who splits his time between the park and his studio in downtown Los Angeles. "I don't recognise my room."

Most evacuation orders were lifted in Southern California by Monday, when clear, warm skies and calm winds helped firefighters make some gains.

Warm weather was forecast to remain on Tuesday with temperatures reaching around 30 degrees Celsius in much of the region, but winds weren't expected to blow much harder than about eight kilometres per hour, according to the National Weather Service.

- SAPA