California to get foreign help
2008-07-12 22:24
Los Angeles - Fire-ravaged California is awaiting the arrival of foreign firefighters from as far away as Australia to help battle more than 300 blazes still raging across the western US state, officials said on Saturday.
"Additional firefighting resources (personnel and equipment) are expected to arrive shortly from Australia, Canada, Mexico and New Zealand" to help hold the line against relentless wildfires that have claimed the life of one person and scorched a record amount of land, said the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Calfire).
According to Saturday estimates, 322 fires are still active, with 1 459 contained out of a peak number of 1 781 blazes, but authorities said the highest "red-flag" warning remained in effect through on Sunday in northern California on account of gusty winds and low humidity.
The raging fires claimed their first fatality on Friday, when sheriff's officials in Butte County discovered the burned body of a person inside a home gutted by flames in Concow near the town of Paradise, some 144km north of Sacramento.
News of the death came as California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger ordered an extra 2 000 members of the National Guard to be deployed.
"I am ordering 2 000 additional California National Guard personnel to boost our firefighting forces," Schwarzenegger said, bringing to 20 274 the number of people battling the blazes.
Earlier, Federal Emergency Management Agency official Glen Cannon told a news conference the state's firefighting resources had been "exhausted" by the sheer scale of the fires.
A wave of infernos erupted across California on June 20, when lightning from dry thunderstorms ignited tinder-dry forest and parkland.
Firefighting efforts focused on the 19 800-hectare blaze near Paradise. The fire has destroyed 50 residences and is threatening 3 800 homes in and around Paradise, where 3 100 firefighters are deployed and 14 000 people were ordered to evacuate, Calfire said.
Officials reported progress against two other fires that have been threatening populated areas near Santa Barbara, 165km north of Los Angeles, and Big Sur, a coastal tourist haven 193km south of San Francisco.
So far some 321 000 hectares have been consumed by flames, making the current crisis the largest in terms of size in Californian history, although a relatively small number of homes - 100 - have been razed.
California is frequently hit by scorching wildfires due to its dry climate, Santa Ana winds and recent housing booms which have seen housing spread rapidly into rural and densely forested areas.
Wildfires in California last October left eight people dead, destroyed 2 000 homes and caused two billion dollars damage.