Local News

BONNY DOON (CBS 5 / KCBS / AP) ― Many residents evacuated because of a wildfire that scorched over 600 acres and burned at least 10 homes in the Santa Cruz County community of Bonny Doon were allowed to return to their homes Friday.

Residents living in the Pine Ridge subdivision and on Empire Grade, Ice Cream Grade, Smith Grade and Pine Flat roads were allowed to return home, as cooler weather provided relief for firefighters in the Santa Cruz Mountains.

An evacuation order was still in place, however, for some areas where firefighters were still trying to reign in the blaze that was 65 percent contained.

Officials did not immediately have an estimate of how many people were let back into their homes.

More than 1,700 residents had been told to evacuate their homes in the heavily forested hills about 10 miles northwest of Santa Cruz since the Martin Fire first broke out Wednesday afternoon.
 
Nearly 900 firefighters continued to battle the blaze, with full containment expected on Saturday.

The fire had flared just two weeks after another blaze two miles away scorched 4,200 acres and destroyed at least three dozen homes in the Santa Cruz Mountains.

The Martin Fire was just one of a series of blazes vexing firefighters across Northern California on Friday.

Butte County Fire

At least 50 homes were destroyed and thousands of residents evacuated the Butte County town of Paradise, about 90 miles north of Sacramento, to escape a blaze that contributed to at least one death - an elderly woman who suffered a heart attack while evacuating. It's the only fatality associated with Northern California fires this month.

As the Humboldt Fire bore down on his home of 15 years, hopscotching between properties here, Larry Knifong decided to take his chances and stay - that is, until the flames raced up a ridge toward this ranch-style house.

"It was just moving very, very fast, it was just picking and choosing what it wanted," said Knifong, who was back at his property Friday after the fire passed through. It had spared his home, but his neighbors down the way weren't so lucky.

Ruben Grijalva, director of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, said the Humboldt Fire was the most dangerous because it was moving toward Paradise on Friday, prompting officials to call for another round of precautionary evacuations for 4,500 people there.

About 9,000 resident evacuated the area a day earlier, but officials had reopened roads to some of those homes on Friday.
 
Only 20 percent of the fire was contained by Friday evening, and it had charred almost 23,000 acres. Five firefighters had sustained minor injuries.

Shifting, persistent winds continued to stoke the fire late Friday, said firefighter Joshpae White.

"It's kind of a mess. You've got this wind moving back and forth. The winds are really squirrely. They're changing direction," he said.

White, one of the firefighters injured, said he was escorting reporters through the fire area in a pickup truck when the flames quickly began closing in. After safely evacuating the reporters, he helped nearby firefighters escape and was forced to drive through a wall of fire.

"It looked like a million blowtorches across the road," White said. "We were taking significant heat. The heat was so intense, the windshield began cracking."

White and another firefighter were treated for minor burns. 

Los Padres National Forest Fire

To the south, a wildfire in Monterey County continued to chew through the Los Padres National Forest.

The Indians Fires had charred more than 23,000 acres, but was nearly 40 percent contained Friday. So far, it has cost about $4 million to batlle the blaze.

The fire had spread to part of the U.S. Army's Fort Hunter Liggett base. One residence and several buildings were destroyed in the north end of the base.

However, most of the 5,000 military personnel who live on the base were not in immediate danger, said Fort Hunter Liggett spokeswoman Helen Elrod, as winds were driving the flames away from the more inhabited base areas.

Six firefighters had been injured thus far fighting the forest fire, officials said.

In recent days, hot temperatures, steady winds and tinder-dry vegetation have fueled the destructive blazes around the state.

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency in Butte County and Santa Cruz County to free up additional firefighting resources.

Several firefighters have suffered serious burns while fighting the wind-stoked fires over the past few days.

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.

Two of them had moderate to severe burns to their faces and arms. They were in stable condition.

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 Friday after undergoing surgery burns to his hands, arms and nose.

(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)