Jul 6, 2008 4:34 pm US/Pacific
Weary Fire Fight From Big Sur To Santa Barbara
BIG SUR (CBS 5 / AP / BCN) ―
Cooler, damper weather conditions Sunday gave a boost to weary and exhausted firefighters battling wildfires that stretched from Big Sur to Santa Barbara, but officials were anxiously watching forecasts that call for a quick return to high, dry temperatures.
Wildfires have burned more than 800 square miles of land and destroyed at least 69 homes throughout California, mainly in the northern part of the state, over the past two weeks. One firefighter died of a heart attack while digging fire lines in Mendocino County.
About 1,400 fires had been contained, but more than 330 still burned out of control Sunday.
Big Sur, Monterey County
Higher than expected humidity helped fire crews advance on a two-week-old blaze that had destroyed 22 homes at the northern end of the Los Padres National Forest in Monterey County.
"The fog held on a little bit stronger than was orginally anticipated, which was great for the crews out working on the lines," said Sarah Gibson, a spokeswoman for the command post in charge of fighting the blaze.
The improved weather did have some drawbacks. Fog made the takeoff of firefighting aircraft more difficult and hampered some efforts to start controlled burns to clear out brush ahead of the advancing wildfire, Gibson said.
More than 2,320 mostly exhausted firefighters were on the scene attempting to save the tiny town of Big Sur, with most of its residences and businesses on the west side of coastal Highway 1.
Authorities said nearly 1,800 structures remained threatened by the Basin Complex Fire.
The blaze had charred 113 square miles, or about 72,430 acres, so far. It was 11 percent contained Sunday, a slight jump from the day before.
Thousands of people in the Big Sur area had refused to leave their homes despite a mandatory evacuation order. For now, sheriff's deputies had residents sign releases saying they were informed of the dangers of staying, and releasing officials from responsibility for their safety.
Fire crews were attempting to burn out brush between the fire's edge and Big Sur's famed restaurants and hotels and cutting more lines to halt flames creeping down from ridge tops.
"The biggest challenge is whether or not the containment lines that they're building now and continuing to improve are going to hold as the fire approaches," said Rolf Larsen, a spokesman for the U.S. Forest Service.
Controlled burns in recent days appeared to have protected several well-known businesses at the top of Big Sur Valley, including the Ventana Inn, Nepenthe Restaurant and Big Sur Deli.
Officials did not expect to fully contain the blaze until the end of the month. The fire has burned since June 21 and the estimated cost of fighting the flames has reached more than $20 million.
Efforts to fight the fire in the coming week may be hampered, as the weather was expected to become hotter and drier. The National Weather Service forecasted a heatwave over the next couple of days, with temperatures soaring to triple digits.
Meantime, firefighters on Saturday began leaving the scene of the Indians Fire, also burning in Monterey County, and headed north to help fight the fire near Big Sur.
The Indians Fire had not grown in several days, fire officials said. It was 95 percent contained and was expected to be fully contained on Monday.
So far, the Indians Fire has combined with the Basin Complex Fire to char more than 150,000 acres of forest.
Goleta, Santa Barbara County
Firefighters also made progress against a massive blaze in the southern end of the Los Padres forest that threatened nearly 2,700 homes near Goleta in Santa Barbara County.
The four-day-old fire, which had consumed about 13 square miles, spread slightly overnight but firefighting crews kept up with the expanding blaze, county spokeswoman Vickie Guthrie said.
As of Sunday, the fire was 28 percent contained, she said.
With lower winds and higher humidity forecast for Sunday, crews were optimistic they could get more acreage under control. Temperatures were forecast to reach the high-70s late Sunday afternoon.
"They expect to make progress today," Guthrie said.
Nearly 2,700 homes in Santa Barbara County remained under mandatory evacuation Sunday and people in another 1,400 were warned to be ready to flee if the flames gathered speed.
The fire, which was burning in 15-foot-high, half-century-old chaparral, still had the potential to roll through a hilly area of ranches, housing tracts and orchards between the cities of Goleta and Santa Barbara, keeping firefighters on their toes.
Nearly 1,200 firefighters struggled to surround the blaze while a DC-10 air tanker and other aircraft dumped water and fire retardant along ridges and in steep canyons.
Investigators think the fire, which began Tuesday, was human-caused. The U.S. Forest Service has asked for public help in determining how it was set.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who on Saturday visited a command post in the coastal region of Santa Barbara County, has ordered 400 National Guard troops to be trained in wildfire fighting so they could help fight the state's blazes.
He also urged lawmakers to adopt his budget plan for a $70 million emergency surcharge on home and business insurance policies to buy more firefighting equipment.
California now has a year-round fire season and needs the money from the fee, which should cost the average homeowner about $1 a month, Schwarzenegger said.
Cal Fire updates on the blazes are available online at:
http://cdfdata.fire.ca.gov/incidents/incidents_current.
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