Jun 13, 2008 9:10 am US/Pacific
Firefighters Gain Ground In Monterey County Fire
LOS PADRES NATIONAL FOREST (CBS 5 / AP / BCN) ―
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A view of the Indians fire in Monterey County.
CBS
Firefighters gained ground Thursday against the Indians Fire in the Los Padres National Forest in Monterey County, bringing containment of the wildfire to 40 percent, U.S. Forest Service officials said.
The fire had charred more than 18,600 acres by Friday morning.
The so-called Indians Fire had spread east to a remote part of the Army's Fort Hunter Liggett base Thursday, but winds were driving the flames away from inhabited areas of the military base, said Manny Madrigal, a spokesman for the U.S. Forest Service.
Four families with homes near the base were evacuated, but the 5,000 military personnel who live there were not in immediate danger, said Fort Hunter Liggett spokeswoman Helen Elrod.
35 residences and 20 outbuildings were threatened by the fire, fire officials said Thursday. One residence has been damaged and one destroyed.
The Arroyo Seco-Indians Road and Cone Peak Road as well as part of the Ventana Wilderness area have been closed, forest officials said. The Memorial and Escondido campgrounds have also been closed.
There is no estimated time for full containment, and the cause remains under investigation.
Around 1,708 firefighters have battled the blaze, and six firefighters have been injured; four suffered minor burns, one endured smoke inhalation and another suffered a broken leg, the Forest Service reported.
Three firefighters were burned near Lincoln, about 25 miles northeast of Sacramento, when they were caught in a 65-acre grass fire burning in a dry rice field.
All three were taken to the University of California, Davis Medical Center regional burn center. Two of them had moderate to severe burns to their faces and arms.
"They are both stable and able to communicate. They have significant swelling," said Battalion Chief Greg Guyan. "They'll probably be in the burn unit another week."
The third was released from a hospital after treatment for minor facial burns.
The burn center was also treating a firefighter who was severely burned Tuesday while trying to protect a mobile home near a wind-blown grass fire southeast of Sacramento. Capt. Steven J. Eggiman, a 21-year veteran of the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District, was in good condition Thursday after undergoing surgery burns to his hands, arms and nose.
The blaze, burning since about 12:30 p.m. Sunday, is 14 miles west of King City in the Ventana Wilderness and the Arroyo Seco-Indians Road corridor.
The terrain where the fire is burning is steep, which has made access to the flames difficult, according to the Forest Service.
However, officials reported that the fire was less intense Thursday, allowing firefighters to contain more of the flames and work ahead of the fire to create contingency lines.
(© CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. The Associated Press and Bay City News contributed to this report.)
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