Raging Fires Burn in Calif., 8 Other States
Pastor Dale Morgan
Raging Fires Burn in Calif., 8 Other States*
Monday July 17, 2006 4:31 AM
By JEREMIAH MARQUEZ
Associated Press Writer
YUCCA VALLEY, Calif. (AP) - Fire crews struggled Sunday to quell
wildfires still raging across steep, rocky swaths of this desert region,
as the harsh terrain slowed efforts to fully contain the blazes that
have destroyed 58 homes and scorched more than 120 square miles.
Large wildfires are burning in nine states, most in the West, according
to the National Fire Information Center in Boise, Idaho.
Two major fires in the California desert have merged, which fire
officials described as a positive development.
``The fact that they burned together makes it easier for us because now
we're only dealing with one perimeter,'' said Wayne Barringer, spokesman
for the California Department of Forestry.
One area of the fire, spanning about 97 square miles, was 60 percent
contained, fire officials said. An adjacent fire had grown to more than
23 square miles since merging with the larger fire and was 10 percent
contained, officials said.
Difficulties in getting to the remote, rugged pockets of fire were
hampering firefighters. Fire officials were forced to rely on
helicopters to drop in suppression teams, rather than using bulldozers
and other heavy equipment.
Fire officials estimate damage from the fires at more than $8.4 million
and firefighting costs at $10.3 million.
On Saturday, searchers found the body of a man who had been missing
since the fire burned through historic Pioneertown on Tuesday. The cause
of the man's death remained under investigation but sheriff's officials
have said it appeared to be fire-related.
At least 11 people have been injured.
Meanwhile, fire officials were bracing Sunday for the possibility that
thunderstorms could roll over the region, potentially triggering
lightning that could start new blazes or rain that could flood the
scorched canyonlands.
The National Weather Service said there was about a 30 percent chance of
storms in the region. Some rain began to fall in the Big Bear area by
early afternoon.
Authorities were advising residents living in a previously designated
flood zone to stock up on sand bags.
The fires had burned into the San Bernardino National Forest but were
not considered immediate threats to communities at higher elevations in
the Big Bear Lake region.
Elsewhere in Southern California, a 500-acre blaze at Redlands was fully
contained Sunday after destroying one building. It broke out Friday
night and initially threatened 100 homes.
In San Diego County, a 260-acre wildfire about 10 miles east of Julian
also was fully contained, said California Department of Forestry
spokeswoman Roxanne Provaznik.
On the edge of Valentine, Neb., located about 300 miles northwest of
Omaha near the South Daklota state line, a large canyon fire destroyed
six homes Sunday and 200 people and a hospital were told to evacuate,
said Eilene Brannon, Cherry County emergency manager. Temperatures
reached 113 degrees.
Firefighters in southern and eastern Montana were battling five major
fires that charred about 294 square miles, mostly east of Billings.
In Wyoming, a wind shift helped firefighters keep a blaze from advancing
toward Devils Tower National Monument. Four fires about five miles
southwest of Devils Tower have burned about 14,848 acres - about 23
square miles - of mostly brush and ponderosa pine. About 10 percent of
the fires were contained. Started by lightning Wednesday, the fire had
damaged two homes and threatened 35 others.
In Minnesota, authorities were letting two wildfires burn Sunday in the
northeastern part of the state, which is having a second consecutive day
of a ``red flag warning'' for fires. The more serious of the two is
expected to burn eastward toward a part of a ``blowdown area'' where
prescribed burns were conducted in 2003 and 2004, making firefighting
easier and safer.
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On the Net:
California Forestry Department: http://www.fire.ca.gov/php/
National Interagency Fire Center http://www.nifc.gov