Firefighters brace for more California wildfire blazes
Pastor Dale Morgan
Firefighters brace for more California wildfire blazes
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Forest Service: Wildfires could rage for months*
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* Story Highlights
* Firefighters battle thousands of blazes to stalemate, but "red
flag" warning remains
* Officials say low rainfall, parched vegetation likely to bring
long, fiery summer
* Blazes scorched more than 550 square miles, destroyed 50 buildings
* Air quality warnings issued from Bakersfield to Redding
SAN FRANCISCO, California (AP) -- Firefighters in Northern California
battled more than a thousand wildfires to a stalemate by Sunday, but
forecasters said dangerous conditions would not relent anytime soon.
No new major fires had broken out by Sunday morning as fire crews inched
closer to getting some of the largest blazes surrounded, according to
the state Office of Emergency Services.
But a "red flag warning" -- meaning the most extreme fire danger -- was
still in effect for Northern California until 5 a.m. Monday. And the
coming days and months are expected to bring little relief.
Forecasters predicted more thunderstorms and dry lightning through the
weekend, similar to the ones that ignited hundreds of fires a week ago.
Meanwhile, a U.S. Forest Service report said the weather would get even
drier and hotter as fire season headed toward its traditional peak in
late July and August.
Lower-than-average rainfall and record levels of parched vegetation
likely mean a long, fiery summer throughout Northern California,
according to the Forest Service's state fire outlook released last week.
The fires burning now could take weeks or months to bring under full
control, the report said.
Those blazes were mostly sparked by lightning storms that were unusually
intense for so early in the season. But summer storms would probably be
even fiercer, according to the Forest Service.
"Our most widespread and/or critical lightning events often occur in
late July or August, and we have no reason to deviate from that," the
agency's report said.
The blazes have scorched more than 550 square miles and destroyed more
than 50 buildings, said Gregory Renick, state emergency services spokesman.
A wildfire in the Los Padres National Forest has forced the closure of a
scenic stretch of a coastal highway and driven away visitors at the peak
of the tourist season.
Air quality districts from Bakersfield to Redding issued health
advisories through the weekend, urging residents to stay indoors to
limit exposure to the smoky air.
On Saturday, President Bush issued an emergency declaration for
California and ordered federal agencies to assist in firefighting efforts.
But California emergency officials said state and local governments
would also need federal financing to cover the costs of fighting so many
fires this early in the year.
Federal aid now includes four Marine Corps helicopters, remote sensing
of the fires by NASA, federal firefighters, and the activation of the
Federal Emergency Management Agency.
In Arizona, firefighters southwest of Phoenix allowed evacuated
residents living near a fire in the dry Gila River bed to return home
Saturday. The fire was not contained but was no longer advancing.
Evacuation orders were lifted Sunday morning for residents of Tajique in
central New Mexico, where a blaze has destroyed six homes. The fire,
sparked by lightning June 23, was more than 60 percent contained.
And in Guffey, Colorado, about 40 miles west of Colorado Springs, most
of the 100 residents who fled a fire were allowed back home Sunday.
A small-plane crash that killed four people touched off a wildfire
northwest of Las Vegas, Nevada, on Saturday. Firefighters ordered the
evacuation of a subdivision and expected to have the fire under control
Sunday evening.