Fires in US under control
2007-10-28 16:41
Lake Arrowhead - Cooler weather helped firefighters make strong gains on many of the wildfires burning across southern California, but officials remained guarded about what the rest of the weekend might bring.
By Saturday, tropical moisture flowing from the south had replaced the hot, skin-cracking Santa Ana winds that roared in a week earlier and spread fires over more than a half-million acres, destroying more than 2 300 structures, including more than 1 790 homes.
By late Saturday more than a dozen blazes were surrounded and containment of nine other blazes ranged from 40 to 97%. Fire officials in San Bernardino County said they expected a fire there to be fully contained later on Sunday.
Flames killed four suspected immigrants
The weather forecast, however, predicted another shift.
"We're due for a change and the weather forecast is going to become warmer and drier," said Chris Caswell with the Orange County Fire Authority. "We're still cautiously optimistic."
The number of deaths directly attributed to the fires officially rose to seven. Officials confirmed that the flames killed four suspected illegal immigrants whose charred bodies were found near the US-Mexico border on Thursday, said Jose Alvarez, a public information officer for San Diego County emergency services. Identification of the victims was continuing.
The Mexican government said that 11 Mexicans were being treated at a San Diego hospital for burns suffered in Southern California's wildfires after crossing the border illegally and four were in critical condition.
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger on Saturday visited a command post near Orange County's Santiago Canyon fire to announce assistance for people with losses, warn of contracting scams and pledge to find whoever set the nearby blaze that continued to threaten homes.
Addressing controversy over state rules that caused delay in getting military aircraft into use against the fires, Schwarzenegger said it sometimes takes disaster "to really wake everyone up".
"There are things that we could improve on and I think this is what we are going to do because a disaster like this ... in the end is a good vehicle, a motivator for everyone to come together," he said.
Big blaze stopped its advance
Active fires burned in the Lake Arrowhead resort region of the towering San Bernardino Mountains 160km east of Los Angeles and in rugged wilderness above isolated canyon communities of Orange County, south-east of Los Angeles. A big blaze 100km north-east of San Diego stopped its advance toward the mountain town of Julian.
About 4 400 people remained in 28 shelter sites in southern California, but others waited out the fires in makeshift encampments. In Highland, at the base of the San Bernardino Mountains, about 20 people were in their sixth day of living in a Wal-Mart parking lot, getting daily visits from sheriff's officials who reported their 17 homes were still intact.
Hundreds of evacuees flooded back into Crestline, Valley of Enchantment and Lake Gregory, small mountain communities tucked in canyons and alongside lakes in the San Bernardino mountains.
- AP