Animals, residents flee fires
2008-07-04 14:03
California - Piles of charred rubble smouldered near California's scenic coastal highway as a ferocious wildfire descended on the tourist town of Big Sur, destroying vacation homes and sending bears, deer and other forest animals fleeing toward the Pacific Ocean.
The stubborn blaze, which has burned more than 41h in the Los Padres National Forest, was just one of hundreds raging around the state. And officials on Thursday reported California's first firefighter death this year - a volunteer who collapsed on the fire line in Mendocino County.
So much forest has burned near Big Sur that animals have been forced out of their habitat and onto the roads. Buzzards flew overhead to snatch up dead rodents and squirrels.
A total of 367 wildfires are burning in the state, most ignited by lightning, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, known as Cal Fire, and the US Forest Service. That figure is down from a peak of roughly 1 500 fires just a few days ago.
Crews near the Pacific Coast Highway fought back flames from homes and historical landmarks on Thursday, including the upscale Ventana Inn, which was surrounded by crackling, burning brush.
Several homes on a ridge near the cliffside inn burned the night before. At least 20 homes have been destroyed since the blaze broke out on June 21. The fire was only five percent contained by Thursday evening.
'It was Armageddon'
Many Big Sur residents left after mandatory evacuation orders, but some chose to defy the authorities, staying behind to try to save their homes and businesses.
Kirk Gafill, general manager of the Nepenthe restaurant, said he and five employees were up all night trying to protect the cliffside restaurant his grandparents built in 1949. Wearing dust masks, the crew scrambled to stamp out embers, some the size of dinner plates, that were dropping from the sky.
"We know fire officials don't have the manpower to secure our properties," Gafill said. "There are a lot of people in this community not following evacuation orders. Based on what we saw during Katrina and other disasters, we know we can only rely on ourselves and our neighbours."
Greg Ambrosio, who lives next to Nepenthe, signed a waiver on Wednesday night to stay in his house but changed his plans in the middle of the night.
"Then there's a knock on the door, and we go outside and the fire had just expanded. It was Armageddon," he said. "Just yellow smoke and ash mixed with fire. It was just raining down."
Ambrosio and his wife grabbed their cat and drove to a relative's house for the night.
State of emergency
In all, the wildfires have scorched more than 320h and destroyed at least 65 structures across northern and central California since June 20, according to Cal Fire.
With firefighting resources stretched thin early in the fire season, counties have been recruiting volunteer firefighters to help with smaller blazes.
On Thursday, volunteer firefighter Robert Roland, 63, died in a Mendocino County hospital after collapsing a day earlier while battling lightning-sparked blazes in the area, north of San Francisco Bay. It was the first reported death of a firefighter this season, and the governor ordered flags at the Capitol to fly at half-staff.
Meanwhile, a fast-growing fire in the southern extension of the Los Padres forest north of Santa Barbara forced authorities to order more evacuations as strong winds pushed flames toward homes in the foothills of the Santa Ynez Mountains.
Gov Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency on Thursday in Santa Barbara County to free up resources to fight that blaze, which threatened about 1 000 buildings. Thick smoke also knocked out electricity for two hours to about 40 000 homes and businesses.
- AP