California News

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PATTERSON, Calif. (AP) - A fire burned 500 acres in Del Puerto
Canyon in Stanislaus County and was only 5 to 8 percent contained
by Thursday evening, the California Department of Forestry said.
Winds gusting to 20 miles per hour drove the flames through
heavy brush and grass in and around Frank Raines Park, a park used
mainly for off-roading with ATVs and motorcycles.
"It's nasty country, it's very rough terrain," said CDF
spokesman Chris Morgan.
The fire started at about 11:45 a.m., but the cause was not yet
clear.
Two air tankers, one air attack plane, five helicopters, 19
engines and eight hand crews were committed to the fire Thursday
evening, Morgan said. Fire crews expected to be there at least into
Friday.
Some homes were threatened but none had been burned, Morgan
said. The area is sparsely populated, and most of the surrounding
land is ranches.

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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Tracy, CA 2000 plus acres

TRACY, Calif. (AP) - Steady winds drove a fast-moving grass fire
Sunday that burned more than 2,000 acres in San Joaquin County near
the California Aqueduct and Interstate 5.
The Bird Fire, named for the road where it started, broke out
just before noon in the brown hills southeast of Tracy on the
western edge of the Central Valley. Winds of 20 mph helped push the
fire on a six-mile run southeast from its starting point.
Nearly 200 firefighters and support staff had the blaze 50
percent contained by Sunday evening, California Department of
Forestry spokeswoman Pam Rhoten said. It threatened power lines,
but no homes, Rhoten said.
The winds were expected to continue overnight into Monday - the
official opening of fire season in California - but increased
humidity could help. Fire officials could not estimate when the
fire would be contained.

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

[NJFFSA16]

Arson Fires

MADERA, Calif. (AP) - Authorities were investigating eight arson
fires Wednesday that burned 485 acres along a 10-mile stretch near
Highway 99 in Madera County.
The first fire in a field was reported at noon in north Madera
County, followed by seven more blazes that threatened homes and
livestock, said Madera County sheriff's spokeswoman Erica Stuart.
The last blaze was extinguished at about 4:30 p.m., Stuart said.
"I've never seen men and women work so fast and furiously with
what they were up against, the winds and the fires," she said.
"We were prepared to evacuate about 50 homes, but (firefighters)
moved in so quickly we didn't have to evacuate anybody."
Two barns and an abandoned house were destroyed in the blazes.
"We had cattle, calves closed in pens, llamas and dogs out
there," Stuart said. "What they had to do at one point was just
cut through fences and let the animals run."
No injuries were reported and no animals were killed.
About 50 firefighters battled the blazes, including crews from
surrounding counties and the California Department of Forestry.
"Hopefully, this sick prank is over for the day and now comes
the investigation," Stuart said.
Authorities had no suspects.
Stuart said arsonists have set fire to grassy fields in the
county before "but nothing to this magnitude where it's just fire
after fire after fire. We were playing cat and mouse with this
person for literally five hours straight."

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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MADERA, Calif. (AP) - A 16-year-old Fairmead boy has been
arrested in connection to a spate of arson fires that burned 485
acres along a 10-mile stretch near Highway 99 in Madera County.
Some 50 firefighters worked for five hours Wednesday
extinguishing eight separate blazes that threatened homes and
livestock. Two barns and an abandoned house were destroyed. No
injuries were reported.
The boy was arrested late Wednesday night in Fairmead, said
Madera County sheriff's spokeswoman Erica Stuart. Deputies are
seeking additional suspects.
"There's no way this kid worked alone," Stuart said.
Arson investigators remained on the scenes Thursday.

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

[NJFFSA16]

EXTREME

'Extreme' fire danger forecast in Southern California

(Sacramento-AP) -- Fire safety officials are preparing
evacuation plans for residents of mountain communities east of Los
Angeles for fear of major conflagrations amid beetle- and
drought-killed trees there this summer.
They project "extreme" fire danger for mountain areas from
north of Los Angeles to the Mexican border.
They're particularly concerned about more than 400-thousand
acres of dead, standing trees in a beetle-affected area in and near
the San Bernardino National Forest in San Bernardino, Riverside and
San Diego counties.
Local planning groups in Lake Arrowhead and Idyllwild have drawn
up evacuation plans for residents and are beginning to inform them
where they should go and how they should get there in the event of
a major fire.

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

[NJFFSA16]

June 19th

AUBERRY, Calif. (AP) - A wildfire burned 75 acres in the rural
Fveclo County foothills on Thursday after a man illegally burned
trash and newspapers in a barrel, fire officials said.
California Department of Forestry spokeswoman Karen Terrill said
the blaze, which started near Auberry and Prather, was nearly
contained by the evening.
No structures were damaged. One firefighter became ill while he
was on the scene and treated at a local hospital. Terrill said the
firefighter's condition wasn't related to the blaze, which centered
30 miles northeast of Fresno and 10 miles west of Shaver Lake..
CDF issued a citation to the 85-year-old man who allegedly set
fire to the debris on his property, Terrill said.
Terrill said local residents left their homes voluntarily this
morning soon after the fire broke out at about 10:40 a.m.
Authorities opened up all roads leading to the affected area at
5 p.m. to allow residents back to their homes, she said.

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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June 23rd

Firefighters battle grass fire near Morgan Hill

(Morgan Hill-AP) -- Firefighters are working to contain an
800-acre grass fire in unincorporated Santa Clara County.
A spokeswoman for the California Department of Forestry says the
blaze started at 11:37 this morning, fueled by high grass and
brush.
It was initially two small fires, but later combined expanded
three miles west of the Pacheco Reservoir.
The department predicts the fire will be fully contained by nine
o'clock tonight.
200 firefighters have been battling the blaze, using two air
tankers, four helicopters, 24 engines and several bulldozers.
There are no buildings in the area, and no injuries have been
reported.

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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June 26th

Brush fires take toll in Calabasas, Riverside County
rjfondap
A wildfire briefly threatened two homes in Calabasas and another
roared through a desert Indian reservation Thursday as temperatures
hit the 100-degree mark after a month of "June gloom."
The Calabasas blaze was reported just after 12:30 p.m. and
burned in heavy brush, briefly threatening homes on Old Topanga
Canyon Road.
Firefighters expected to fully surround the 24-acre blaze by
evening, Los Angeles County fire Inspector Edward Osorio said.
"It's pretty much not going anywhere," he said.
One firefighter suffered a minor injury. No evacuations were
ordered. About 150 firefighters aided by seven water-dropping
helicopters battled the flames.
The cause of the fire remained under investigation. The area is
about 12 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles.
In Riverside County, a brush fire reported at 11:42 a.m. had
destroyed 45 acres of brush on the Torres Martinez Indian
reservation near Mecca, about 30 miles southeast of Palm Springs.
"It's on the desert floor and, of course, the biggest problem
is that the temperatures are 108-plus," said Joanne Evans, a
spokeswoman for the California Department of Forestry-Riverside
County Fire Department. "It's thick and dense vegetation and it
moves pretty quickly."
About 80 firefighters aided by air support were battling the
fire. which was about 20 percent contained. One firefighter was
treated for heat exhaustion.
The blaze was started by someone legally burning brush.
"Apparently this one got loose," Evans said.

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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July 7th

CASTAIC, Calif. (AP) - A 'red flag' fire alert will remain at
least through Tuesday in Los Angeles County as crews mop up a
120-acre blaze in Angeles National Forest.
Monday's blaze sparked by a pickup truck fire came during the
fire alert for hot temperatures, low humidity and winds in the
county. Gusty winds fanned flames away from Interstate 5 but about
200 firefighters aided by water-dropping helicopters and air
tankers had fully contained the blaze by 9 p.m.
No structures were damaged but a mobile home park was briefly
threatened at one point, said Los Angeles County fire Capt. Mark
Savage. The blaze closed down the freeway in the northern part of
the county for about two hours and snarled traffic throughout the
evening.
The fire began about 2:45 p.m. when the pickup truck caught fire
on the northbound side of the freeway just north of Templin
Highway. It sent a huge plume of smoke into the sky.
"This is really a sign of things to come for what could be a
very active and busy fire season for firefighters in southern
California," he said.
Investigations into several weekend wildfires continued.
A 25-acre blaze in brush near Alta Loma in San Bernardino County
on Sunday is being investigated as arson, said Tom Sensintaffar, a
manager for the U.S. Forest Service. Investigators said another
blaze that charred 35 acres in nearby Cucamonga Canyon on Saturday
does not appear suspicious.
Monday's blaze off I-5 appeared to be the third in less than two
weeks sparked by a highway vehicle fire in the area.
Last week, 1,200 acres burned near Lebec after a pickup truck
fire spread to the brush. A similar fire that broke out about a
mile north of Fort Tejon State park on Saturday was stopped at
about 25 acres.
A set of weekend fires in Agua Dulce, near Bakersfield and in
Chino Hills were controlled without structural damage. A blaze near
Elizabeth Lake was extinguished after damaging two homes.
---
On the Net:
National Interagency Fire Center: http://www.nifc.gov/

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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California Guard

SACRAMENTO (AP) - With nearly a third of its troops deployed,
the California National Guard is looking to form alliances with
other Western states to help fight wildfires this summer.
About 7,000 Army and Air National Guard troops are serving
security missions in the United States or are posted in Afghanistan
and Iraq in the largest deployment abroad since World War II. That
has led California Guard officials to reach beyond state borders to
provide enough backup to meet civil emergencies.
"It's the first time we've actually sat down with other states
and said, 'We've got to figure out what's going on,"' said
California National Guard Lt. Col. Terry Edinboro, deputy director
for plans, operations and security.
In addition to boosting national defense and providing security,
the Guard helps out after natural disasters such as earthquakes,
floods and fires.
Troops are called in to fight wildfires when state, local and
contractor firefighters are exhausted. Guard helicopter pilots have
been dispatched to drop water on large wildfires.
"They are kind of our ace card when we need them," said Kim
Zagaris, chief of the Fire and Rescue Branch of the Governor's
Office of Emergency Services.
Eight of California's 30 Black Hawk and Chinook helicopters are
currently based overseas and only about six to eight of the
remaining helicopters would be available to fight fires due to
maintenance and rotating flight crew schedules.
If intense fires erupt this year, Guard officials want to make
sure they have enough troops and helicopters to fight the fires.
"How long could we sustain?" said Edinboro. "After a month or
two, we'd feel the pinch for flight crews."
Edinboro plans to meet later this month with officials from the
National Guards of Montana, Washington, Oregon, Nevada and Arizona
to develop cooperative plans.
California National Guard flight crews already assist
firefighting efforts in other states, such as Oregon.
California officials also want to expand firefighting training
to National Guard aviators in other states through the U.S. Forest
Service.

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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July 17th

WARNER SPRINGS, Calif. (AP) - A lightning-sparked wildfire
spread to 11,200 acres of steep, hilly brush along the San
Diego-Riverside county line Thursday, destroying two San Diego
State University research buildings.
An undetermined number of people were evacuated from the
Chihuahua Valley, where the fire was threatening about 50
structures, said Audrey Hagen, spokeswoman for the California
Department of Forestry. It was not known how many of those
structures were houses. No injuries were reported.
More than 1,100 firefighters were battling the blaze. Crews had
contained about 10 percent of it - down from 15 percent earlier in
the day. Flames were advancing southeast, southwest and northwest.
The blaze began Wednesday afternoon in Riverside County, just
north of the county line, prompting the evacuation of a Boy Scout
camp. About 600 campers were escorted out of Lost Valley Scout
Reservation Summer Camp as a precaution.
The scouts were sent home; local residents were offered shelter
at a high school in Warner Springs, a community on the outskirts of
the Cleveland National Forest, about 60 miles northeast of San
Diego.
Conditions were hot and windy Thursday, with crews close to the
fire working in temperatures of above 100 degrees, Hagen said.
The fire ruined two San Diego State University buildings in the
sparsely populated area Thursday and damaged a third, Hagen said.
The buildings contained unknown chemicals.
The university operates the Sky Oaks Field Station in the area,
a 1,600-acre preserve for biological and environmental research,
said Jason Foster, a school spokesman. He had no information on
fire damage. Equipment stored at the site includes computers,
scientific instrumentation and fertilizer.

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

[NJFFSA16]

July 17th

FORT ORD, Calif. (AP) - A fire burned through dry brush at this
former U.S. Army base on the Monterey Peninsula Thursday, and
firefighters were unable to get close to it because of fears about
unexploded ordnance.
The fire was confined to the military's so-called impact area
Thursday evening, according to California Department of Forestry
and Fire Protection spokeswoman Cheryl Goetz.
"When they fire ordnance, they fire it out to this area and
sometimes it doesn't explode all the way," she said. "We couldn't
put any firefighters in that area because of that."
Firefighters could only try to contain the blaze to the impact
area, and keep it from crossing any roads, she said.
The fire began Thursday afternoon and was covering about 70
acres, Goetz said.
High winds drove thick brown smoke over the Salinas Valley.

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

[NJFFSA16]

7/20

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. (AP) - A wildfire destroyed four homes
and forced evacuations as it roared through 800 acres of rolling,
oak-studded hills Sunday, authorities said.
The fire was 10 percent contained Sunday night and was
threatening scattered homes. About 375 firefighters were on the
scene, said Stacey Salazar of the California Department of
Forestry. She did not know how many people were evacuated.
The blaze, in cattle country about 200 miles north of Los
Angeles, erupted near the small community of Santa Margarita at
about 3:15 p.m. It is the same area where a blaze destroyed a home
last summer and nine homes and more than 106,000 acres of brush
were burned by a wildfire in 1996.
The cause of the fire was under investigation.
Meanwhile, a lightning-sparked wildfire that scorched nearly
18,000 acres of brush in eastern San Diego County was 49 percent
contained Sunday, fire officials said.
More than 2,000 firefighters were battling the fire, which began
July 16. Full containment was expected Wednesday.
More than 70 homes and 67 other buildings were in the area of
the fire, but no residents were evacuated, said Laura Lowes, a fire
information officer with the California Department of Forestry.
Firefighters were contending with high humidity, temperatures
predicted in the 80s and wind speeds between 5 and 10 mph.
The area, about 60 miles northeast of San Diego near Riverside
County, is in the brush-covered hills of Chihuahua and Lost valleys
on the edge of Cleveland National Forest.
On Friday, two mobile homes used as offices at a research
station operated by California State University, San Diego, were
destroyed in the blaze.The fire also destroyed a building and
several small structures at the Sky Oaks Biological Field Station.
Sky Oaks is a 1,600-acre preserve for biological and environmental
research.
The Coyote Fire, so named because it started near Coyote Canyon,
also burned across part of the Boy Scout Reservation Summer Camp,
destroying five tents and a storage container.
About 600 people left the camp as a precaution on Wednesday. An
unknown number of residents voluntarily evacuated the area but
returned home Friday.

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

[NJFFSA16]

7/21

WARNER SPRINGS, Calif. (AP) - Thousands of firefighters working
in near triple-digit heat began to get the upper hand on the
largest of about a dozen wildfires burning across the state,
announcing they expected to have the 18,482-acre Coyote blaze
contained by Wednesday.
The fire, started by lightening strikes last Wednesday, was
about 50 percent contained, California Department of Forestry
spokeswoman Audrey Hagen said Monday.
Although it remained a possible threat to about 70 homes, fire
officials said they expected to have the blaze contained by
Wednesday morning. About 2,200 firefighters were fighting it on the
edge of the Cleveland National Forest, about 60 miles northeast of
San Diego.
Earlier it destroyed two mobile homes used as offices for a
research station operated by California State University, San
Diego, as well as several other small structures. It also prompted
the evacuation of a Boy Scout summer camp where five tents burned.
In central California, a wildfire touched off by a spark from an
off-road vehicle in San Luis Obispo County also appeared on the way
to being tamed. The Park Hill fire, burning east of U.S. 101 and
northeast of San Luis Obispo, was 60 percent contained Monday with
full containment expected by Tuesday morning.
Approximately 800 firefighters were battling the flames, which
had damaged one home and three other structures on Sunday while
forcing the evacuation of about 250 residents.
CDF spokeswoman Nena Portillo said the blaze was started by a
spark from an off-road vehicle whose driver was cited for having a
modified exhaust system.
About 4,000 firefighters were battling blazes across the state
Monday. The others included:
- A blaze that blackened about 4,700 acres of steep terrain in a
canyon at Frank Raines Park, about 15 miles north of Patterson in
central California's Stanislaus County. It began Sunday morning in
temperatures near 100 degrees and was quickly pushed along by
erratic winds.
- At least seven lightning-caused fires in the Tahoe National
Forest. The largest of the fires, reported Monday, covered 80 to
100 acres in Plumas County. Another blaze covered 40 acres, with
most of the others no more than one acre.
-A 2,000-acre Kern County brush fire near Interstate 5 that was
contained Sunday evening. The Grapevine fire burned up the northern
slope of the Kern County mountains Sunday before being contained
about 10 p.m.

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

[NJFFSA16]

7/22

WARNER SPRINGS, Calif. (AP) - Firefighters working in sticky,
100-degree heat made progress Tuesday in surrounding California
wildfires that have burned some 25,000 acres of brush.
Humid, overcast weather held only a slim chance of rain but
carried a threat of lightning that could spark new fires. Gusty
winds up to 25 mph whipped the rocky canyons and oak-studded
brushlands where the fires burned.
Yet firefighters steadily made gains, officials said. The
18,705-acre Coyote blaze in the Warner Springs area of San Diego
County was expected to be contained by Wednesday and a blaze that
destroyed several homes in San Luis Obispo County also appeared on
its way to being tamed.
The Coyote fire was 67 percent contained, California Department
of Forestry spokeswoman Audrey Hagen said.
"It's not moving. It's not spreading anywhere. Things are
looking good," Hagen said.
Started by lightning strikes July 16, the fire burned two mobile
homes used as offices for a research station operated by California
State University, San Diego. It also destroyed eight other
buildings and 11 vehicles. Three other vehicles were damaged.
About 2,000 firefighters assisted by 19 aircraft were working in
rocky hills and canyons on the edge of Cleveland National Forest,
about 60 miles northeast of San Diego. Ten were treated for minor
injuries ranging from cuts to heat exhaustion.
Crews working in 103-degree heat had nine miles of firebreak to
cut.
Two campgrounds remained evacuated, including a Boy Scout summer
camp where five tents burned.
In San Luis Obispo County, the 1,200-acre Park Hill blaze that
destroyed three homes and many outbuildings was 85 percent
contained. Authorities expected it to be fully encircled Tuesday
evening. About 500 firefighters were on the line, down from about
800. Progress was so good that crews were being released.
Three firefighters were treated for heat exhaustion and one for
a broken ankle.
The Park Hill fire erupted Sunday in the oak-dotted hills of
ranch country about 200 miles northwest of Los Angeles. It was
caused by spark from an off-road vehicle whose driver was cited for
modifying the exhaust system.
As many as 150 scattered homes were threatened at the height of
the blaze but fire crews rushed to protect them. Many of the homes
also had open spaces, tile roofs and other fire-prevention measures
and none were in danger as of Tuesday, authorities said.
About 150 residents who were evacuated Sunday were allowed to
return.
Elsewhere in central California, firefighters battling a
wildfire in the steep Del Puerto Canyon in Frank Raines Park had
nearly surrounded the 5,734-acre and expected to fully contain it
on Wednesday. More than 800 firefighters were at site about 15
miles north of Patterson in Stanislaus County. No major injuries
were reported.
The cause of the fire was under investigation.
A fire that began near Chilcoot, Calif., about 35 miles north of
Lake Tahoe, was burning across the state line in Nevada. Sparked by
lightning on Sunday, the so-called Mart fire had grown to 3,500
acres and was 40 percent contained. One barn was destroyed but no
homes were reported lost.

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)