Jul 7, 2008 11:56 pm US/Pacific
Fresh Crews Come In To Fight California Fires
BIG SUR (CBS 5 / AP / BCN) ―
Fresh firefighting crews were called in Monday to help battle hundreds of wildfires chewing through forest land throughout California.
Firefighters, who got some help from the cooler weather over the weekend, may not like the forecast in the days ahead -- it calls for much higher temperatures and drier conditions.
Temperatures were predicted to climb back into the 90s this week, as the moist air currents that kept highs to the upper 70s on Saturday and Sunday went away.
Wildfires have burned areas totaling more than 800 square miles and destroyed at least 69 homes throughout California, mainly in the northern part of the state, in the past two weeks. One firefighter died of a heart attack.
California's siege of fires began with an extraordinary lightning storm in late June. About 1,450 fires have since been contained, but more than 330 still burned out of control Monday.
Monterey County: Basin Fire
Firefighters made some progress in trying to contain the Basin Complex Fire that burned along the Big Sur coast. The two-week old blaze on the northern end of the Los Padres forest was 18 percent contained on Monday — up from 11 percent the day before.
Officials said firefighters were able to cut more firelines over the weekend to help slow the spread of the flames which are approaching Big Sur's famed restaurants and hotels.
"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.
Mandatory evacuations remained in effect for the entire Big Sur community, including both sides of Highway 1 from Palo Colorado Road south to the town of Lucia.
The Red Cross had an evacuation center and shelter up and running at Carmel Middle School, while Pet and livestock evacuations were being handled by the SPCA of Monterey County.
Areas residents were communicating on a blog at
www.surfire2008.org.
So far, the blaze had consumed about 125 square miles, or 77,000 acres, and destroyed 22 homes in 16 days.
Fire officials said the 2,300 firefighters on the scene were getting some help Monday as several "hotshot" crews from around the country arrived.
Despite the progress and extra help, fire officials were keeping an eye on the weather. Forecasters said a heat wave was on the way, with temperatures in the area expected to hit 90 degrees or higher starting Tuesday.
Monterey County: Indians Fire
Fire officials said Monday they now expected full containment of the Indians Fire by Thursday. The now four-week- old fire was roughly 97-percent contained after having blazed through more than 81,000 acres.
Officials indicated 422 structures remain threatened, and 17 firefighters had been injured on the front lines. Arroyo-Seco Road remained closed to the public at Carmel Valley Road.
It was believed that an escaped camp fire on June 8 touched off the massive fire just west of King City.
Meanwhile, officials said the blaze had burned through millions of dollars worth of pot plants -- serving as a natural source of marijuana eradication.
Officials cited 2006 numbers where more than 17,000 pot plants worth an estimated $85 million were seized in the Los Padres National Forest. Many of the marijuana gardens are typically hidden in very remote areas of the forest land.
Mendocino County
More than 200 California National Guard Soldiers from Operation Lightning Strike were deployed to Mendocino County on Monday to assist firefighting efforts.
The soldiers completed a four-day firefighter training course which mimics Cal Fire's basic firefighter training course for new recruits.
This is the first time since 1977 that the California National Guard has been called on to join ground-based fire crews, according to the National Guard.
Santa Barbara County
A break in summer heat during the weekend allowed firefighters to make progress in controlling the preimeters of the Gap Fire, burning through the mountains in Santa Barbara County, as they prepared for hot and dry conditions to return.
"It's pretty well stopped on the southern flank, where most of the structure threat was," said Santa Barbara County spokeswoman Carrie Topliffe.
In addition, officials called in five "hot shot" crews from Arizona and New Mexico, totaling 100 firefighters who would be dropped by helicopter in the Santa Ynez Mountains or hike in to thin brush and slow the fire's progress.
"They're going to try to create a line around the western end," said Stanton Florea, spokesman for the National Forest Service.
The "hot shots" join nearly 1,200 firefighters, who have come from 22 states and the District of Columbia, to combat the blaze. "They're working incredibly hard," said Dixie Dies, spokeswoman for the state Incident Management Team.
The fire, which started last Tuesday and had spread over about 15 square miles of the southern end of the Los Padres forest above the city of Goleta, was 35 percent contained Monday.
More than 2,000 residents who fled their homes started to return Monday after most mandatory evacuation orders were lifted in the region, about 100 miles northwest of Los Angeles.
"People are filtering back to their neighborhoods and they're very happy," said forest spokesman John Ahlman. Some mandatory evacuations remained in scattered mountain communities south of Highway 154 and in areas on the west end of the fire on the Santa Ynez Mountains, Ahlman said.
The fire was blazing through 15 to 20-foot tall forest in extremely steep, rocky terrain. Crews relied mainly on drops of flame retardant by helicopters and DC-10s to control the burning ridges and canyons. So far, 68,000 tons had been dropped.
The fire still had the potential to roll through a hilly area of ranches, housing tracts and orchards between the cities of Goleta and Santa Barbara. "We know we're in this for the long haul," said Dies.
Investigators suspect the fire, which began last Tuesday, was human-caused. The Forest Service has asked for public help in determining how it was set.
Other Fires
The Piute Fire in the southern Sierra Nevada was less than half contained as of Monday. The 40-square-mile blaze in the Sequoia National Forest east of Bakersfield won't be controlled for at least another two weeks, fire officials said.
Unexpected winds pushed it on several flanks Monday, causing flames to jump western containment lines and run up Brown Peak. Air tankers and helicopters dumped flame retardant.
"The steep, challenging terrain makes it tough to work directly," said Bob Kurilla, Piute fire spokesman. "It will take a little while, but we're making progress."
Mandatory fire evacuations were also in effect in Shasta and Trinity counties, where temperatures were already reaching 110 degrees and 53,600 acres had burned.
In the Sacramento region, smoke from wildland fires filed the air with harmful particulates. California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger issued a health warning, urging people affected by smoke to stay inside and limit their physical activity.
Cal Fire updates on all the major blazes burning throughout the state are available online at:
http://cdfdata.fire.ca.gov/incidents/incidents_current.
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