Firefighters battle blaze in forest near LA

[samanthajane13]

AZUSA, Calif. – A 750-acre wildfire northeast of Los Angeles fouled the air breathed by millions of Southern Californians on Wednesday, but the flames were burning away from suburbs on the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains and no homes had been lost.

Stoked by the arrival of high temperatures and extremely dry air after weeks of unusually mild summer weather, the Morris Fire in Angeles National Forest produced a pungent white haze that spread through the Los Angeles Basin and east into San Bernardino County.

"It's pretty bad, the smoke," said Natacha Cuvelier, a 20-year-old student at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. "Once I stepped out of the door, I could smell it."

The air was considered unhealthy in many areas and regional officials urged people to avoid strenuous activities, indoor or out.

Schools were advised to suspend physical education and sports, said Dr. Jonathan Fielding, Los Angeles County's director of public health.

The smoke lingered for lack of a sea breeze, said Sam Atwood, spokesman for the South Coast Air Quality Management District.

"Sometimes when we have these fires that will last for several days, the smoke can kind of build and get sloshed back and forth, so to speak. With each successive day, the extent of the smoke will get bigger and bigger," he said.

The fire, which erupted Tuesday near Morris Dam in San Gabriel Canyon, was 10 percent contained as temperatures headed up to triple digits, said forest dispatcher Chris Rush.

Aircraft dropped water and retardant as hundreds of firefighters struggled to contain flames that leapfrogged among steep, rocky ridges where the brush had not burned for at least 25 years.

"All of the conditions are not in our favor today. We are going to try to take every strategic advantage we can before it gets away from the box," U.S. Forest Service spokesman Jim Wilkins told KABC-TV.

No injuries were reported but a voluntary evacuation was in effect for a tiny community near the San Gabriel River.

Campgrounds also were closed, a day after picnickers and campers were forced to flee and 18 Boy Scouts had to be flown out of the area.

Investigators believe the fire was caused by a person, but it was unclear whether it was accidental or deliberate, Rush said.

Mountain highs will run up to 105 degrees through Friday, said meteorologist David Sweet of the National Weather Service.

The weather service issued a fire danger warning for mountain areas stretching from Los Angeles County northwestward through Santa Barbara and Ventura counties but the forecast did not call for any strong Santa Ana winds that typically stoke the worst Southern California wildfires.

Forecasters said a strong high pressure system was expected to build over the Southwest through Friday as onshore flow of moist air from the Pacific weakened. That was expected to result in continued warming and drying. Single-digit humidity levels were already being observed in mountain areas.

For weeks this summer, low clouds and fog hung close to the Southern California coast, and the moist marine layer often pushed well inland overnight.

The Angeles National Forest sprawls across about 1,000 square miles of chaparral, pine and fir in towering mountains and rugged canyons north and northeast of Los Angeles.

It is a major recreation area for the metropolitan region, drawing millions of hikers, mountain bikers, picnickers and campers.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090826/ap_on_re_us/us_california_forest_wildfire

[samanthajane13]

Firefighters battle 3 Calif. wildfires amid heat


LOS ANGELES – Two wildfires in the Angeles National Forest northeast of Los Angeles continue to burn as fire crews face another day of high heat.

U.S. Forest Service Capt. Jim Wilkins said Thursday the Morris Fire in the San Gabriel Mountains above the city of Azusa has grown to nearly 3 square miles. It's 45 percent contained.

Wilkins says water-dropping aircraft and bulldozers will concentrate on the northeastern edge to keep the blaze from surging into a vast track of bone-dry brush and timber.

To the west, a fire north of the foothill community of La Canada Flintridge is burning 30 acres and is 20 percent contained.

In Monterey County, a fire that has spread over more than 3 square miles and burned a mobile home is 30 percent contained.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Firefighters in Southern California braced for another day of hot, extremely dry weather as they battled two wildfires in the Angeles National Forest northeast of Los Angeles, while crews worked to contain another blaze in a rural area of Northern California that consumed a mobile home.

A fast-moving wildfire started Wednesday afternoon about 20 miles southwest of King City in Monterey County and consumed more than 3 square miles of grassy, rolling hills, Division Chief Curt Itson of the state Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said.

The fire was 30 percent contained early Thursday, Itson said, but residents of 20 homes near the tiny community of Lockwood evacuated voluntarily. The cause of the blaze was under investigation.

Northeast of Los Angeles, two wildfires fouled the air for millions of Southern Californians, but the flames were burning away from foothill suburbs and no homes were threatened.

The National Weather Service predicted another hot, dry day Thursday with moderate mph winds out of the west, very low humidity and temperatures as high as 104 degrees at low elevations of the Angeles National Forest.

Stoked by the arrival of high temperatures and extremely dry air after weeks of unusually mild summer weather, the 2.6-square mile Morris Fire in Angeles National Forest produced a pungent white haze that spread through the Los Angeles Basin and east into San Bernardino County. The smoke lingered for lack of a sea breeze.

"It's pretty bad, the smoke," said Natacha Cuvelier, a 20-year-old student at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. "Once I stepped out of the door, I could smell it."

The air was considered unhealthy in many areas, and regional officials urged people to avoid strenuous activities, indoor and out.

Schools were advised to suspend physical education and sports, said Dr. Jonathan Fielding, Los Angeles County's director of public health.

"Sometimes when we have these fires that will last for several days, the smoke can kind of build and get sloshed back and forth, so to speak," said Sam Atwood, spokesman for the South Coast Air Quality Management District. "With each successive day, the extent of the smoke will get bigger and bigger."

Late Wednesday, a new fire erupted in the Los Angeles suburb of La Canada Flintridge. At least 20 acres had burned by evening with 20 percent containment, U.S. Forest Service spokesman Bruce Quintelier said.

The weather service has issued a fire danger warning for mountain areas stretching from Los Angeles County northwest through Santa Barbara and Ventura counties, but the forecast did not call for any strong Santa Ana winds that typically stoke the worst Southern California wildfires.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090827/ap_on_re_us/us_california_wildfires

[samanthajane13]

More than 1,500 ordered to flee Calif. wildfires
By ROBERT JABLON, Associated Press Writer Robert Jablon, Associated Press Writer – 1 hr 50 mins ago

LOS ANGELES – Wildfires threatened hundreds of homes in the seaside hills and foothill canyons near Los Angeles early Friday, feeding on bone-dry brush in the midst of a heat wave expected to drive temperatures into triple digits.

As many as 1,500 people had to leave the wealthy seaside community of Rancho Palos Verdes overnight, while residents of about 870 homes were urged to voluntarily leave La Canada Flintridge, a dozen miles northeast of downtown Los Angeles on the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains.

Water-dropping helicopters worked through the night, as the ominous red glow of flames illuminated the darkness. A lack of wind let the helicopters operate in the canyons, Los Angeles County fire Inspector Steve Zermeno said.

"When the wind starts blowing through there, it picks up a lot of speed," he said. "Any gust of wind can blow them off course or cause them to lose control."

The Rancho Palos Verdes fire erupted late Thursday and spread rapidly, damaging three homes and several garages and outbuildings, but crews managed to keep it from expanding overnight, Capt. Mike Brown said.

The 100-acre blaze was 35 percent contained early Friday, Zermeno said.

The wealthy communities on the Palos Verdes Peninsula south of Los Angeles are in an area known for horse trails, spectacular Pacific Ocean views, pricey real estate and exclusive golf clubs, including the Trump National Golf Club owned by Donald Trump.

The Terranea Resort, a luxury hotel a couple miles from the fire, opened its door to locals who had to evacuate, but only two families had taken advantage of the offer by midnight, said hotel spokeswoman Wendy Haase.

The fire near La Canada Flintridge began to kick up late Thursday afternoon, a day after it began in the Angeles National Forest, and flames moved slowly down the slopes of the San Gabriels. By early Friday it was estimated to cover more than 2 square miles and was about 10 percent contained.

The fire jumped a highway overnight and moved near homes, said Jennifer Sanchez, a U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman.

Zermeno said the fire was being fought mainly from the air because the terrain was too steep for firefighters to reach it easily.

Still air meant the fire was growing slowly rather than being pushed, but "we'll see if nature is still on our side" later in the day, Zermeno said.

The National Weather Service predicted a third day of red flag conditions of extreme fire danger for many of California's central and southern mountain ranges because of because of low humidity and triple-digit heat that sapped moisture from grass and brush.

To the east, another fire in the San Gabriel Mountains was 60 percent contained late Thursday after burning across more than 3 square miles, Sanchez said.

Nearly 1,000 firefighters aided by bulldozers and a fleet of water- and fire retardant-dropping aircraft worked the fire's northeastern edge.

The fire, believed caused by human action began Tuesday near a dam and reservoir in San Gabriel Canyon, a half-dozen miles above the city of Azusa.

Farther north in Monterey County, 100 homes were evacuated about four miles from the community of Soledad. The fire burned more than 2,000 acres of steep grasslands, or more than 3 square miles, since it started Thursday afternoon, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection Capt. James Dellamonica said. The blaze has not been contained.

To the west, in the San Bernardino National Forest in Riverside County, another fire had blackened about 1 1/2 square miles by Thursday evening and prompted authorities to issue a voluntary evacuation of 12 homes in the area near Hemet, said Forest Service fire spokeswoman Anabele Cornejo. She said about five people had left and that the fire was 5 percent contained.

__

Associated Press Writers Sudhin Thanawala in San Francisco and Tracie Cone in Fresno contributed to this report.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090828/ap_on_re_us/us_california_wildfires;_ylt=Aoj9Ir8YdNCfL4fPEVyb4 MxY24cA;_ylu=X3oDMTJxN2U1dDc2BGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMDkwO DI4L3VzX2NhbGlmb3JuaWFfd2lsZGZpcmVzBGNwb3MDMgRwb3M DMgRzZWMDeW5fdG9wX3N0b3JpZXMEc2xrA21vcmV0aGFuMTUwM A--

[samanthajane13]

SoCal wildfire surges in size, threatens thousands
By JOHN ANTCZAK and CHRISTOPHER WEBER, Associated Press Writers John Antczak And Christopher Weber, Associated Press Writers – 1 hr 5 mins ago

LOS ANGELES – A wildfire in the mountains above Los Angeles has surged in every direction, going in a single day from a modest threat to a danger to some 10,000 homes.

The blaze nearly tripled in size in triple-digit heat Saturday, leaving three people burned, destroying at least three homes and forcing the evacuation of 1,000 homes and an untold number of people.

A slight drop in temperatures and an influx of fire crews from around the state were expected to bring some relief Sunday.

Mandatory evacuations were in effect for neighborhoods in Altadena, Glendale, Pasadena, La Crescenta and Big Tujunga Canyon.

The flames crept down the slopes of the San Gabriel Mountains despite mild winds blowing predominantly in the other direction.

"Today what happened is what I call the perfect storm of fuels, weather, and topography coming together," said Captain Mike Dietrich, the incident commander for the U.S. Forest Service. "Essentially the fire burned at will; it went where it wanted to when it wanted to."

Dietrich said he had never seen a fire grow so quickly without powerful Santa Ana winds to push it.

At least three homes deep in the Angeles National Forest were destroyed, and firefighters were searching for others, Dietrich said.

Evacuation centers were set up at two high schools and an elementary school in the area.

The fire was the largest and most dangerous of several burning around southern and central California and in Yosemite National Park.

The fire especially grew to the north and west, bringing new concerns for the areas near Acton and Santa Clarita.

More than 31 square miles of dry forest was scorched by the fire. It was only 5 percent contained.

At least three people were burned in the evacuation areas and airlifted to local hospitals, Dietrich said. He had no further details on their injuries.

Air crews waged a fierce battle against the southeast corner of the fire, burning dangerously close to canyon homes. Spotter planes and tankers dove well below ridge then pulled up dramatically over neighborhoods.

The fire was burning in steep wooded hills next to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in northern Pasadena.

In La Vina, a gated community of luxury homes in the Altadena area, a small group of residents stood at the end of a cul-de-sac on the lip of a canyon and watched aircraft battle flames trying to cross the ridge on the far side.

At one point, the flying circus of relatively small propellor-driven tankers gave way to the sight of a giant DC-10 jumbo jet unleashing a rain of red retardant.

"We see a drop, we give a big cheer," said Gary Blackwood, who works on telescope technology at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. "We've watched it now for two days hop one ridge at a time and now it's like we're the next ridge."

A major goal was to keep the fire from spreading up Mount Wilson, where many of the region's broadcast and communications antennas and the historic Mount Wilson Observatory are located, officials said.

A second fire in the Angeles National Forest was burning several miles to the east in a canyon above the city of Azusa. The 3.4-square-mile blaze, which started Tuesday afternoon, was 95 percent contained Saturday. No homes were threatened, and full containment was expected by Monday.

A wildfire on the Palos Verdes Peninsula on the south Los Angeles County coast was 100 percent contained Saturday afternoon, according to county fire officials.

Southeast of Los Angeles in Riverside County, a 3 1/2-square-mile fire in a rural area of the San Bernardino National Forest was 30 percent contained as it burned in steep, rocky terrain in Beeb Canyon. No structures were threatened.

To the north, in the state's coastal midsection, a 9.4-square-mile fire threatening Pinnacles National Monument kept 100 homes under evacuation orders near the Monterey County town of Soledad. The blaze, 60 percent contained, was started by agricultural fireworks used to scare animals away from crops. The fire destroyed one home.

A state of emergency was declared Saturday for Mariposa County, where a nearly 5.5-square-mile fire burned in Yosemite National Park. The blaze was 30 percent contained, park officials said.

Park officials closed a campground and a portion of Highway 120, anticipating that the fire would spread north toward Tioga Road, the highest elevation route through the Sierra. The number of firefighters was expected to double over the weekend to 1,000.

About 100 residents from the town of El Portal were under evacuation orders, said Brad Aborn, chairman of Mariposa's Board of Supervisors. He said the remainder of the town, an estimated 75 people, were evacuated Saturday morning.

___

Associated Press Writer Andrew Dalton in Los Angeles contributed to this report.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090830/ap_on_re_us/us_california_wildfires

[samanthajane13]

Calif. fire to reach mountain's TV transmitters

LOS ANGELES – Authorities say flames from a major wildfire north of Los Angeles are about to reach Mount Wilson, home to a historic observatory and transmitters for every major television and radio station in the area.

Los Angeles County Fire Capt. Mark Savage tells KABC-TV Sunday that "it's not a matter of if it impacts Mount Wilson, it's a matter of when," and estimated that the flames could leap to the top of the mountain within a few hours.

Savage says firefighters could be pulled at any moment if the situation becomes dangerous.

Television stations say if the antennas burn, broadcast signals will be affected but satellite and cable transmissions should not be.

Two giant telescopes and several multimillion-dollar astronomy programs are also located at the observatory.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090831/ap_on_re_us/us_california_wildfire_mount_wilson

[samanthajane13]

2 firefighters killed in crash amid SoCal wildfire
By RAQUEL MARIA DILLON and CHRISTOPHER WEBER, Associated Press Writers Raquel Maria Dillon And Christopher Weber, Associated Press Writers – 36 mins ago

LOS ANGELES – Officials say two firefighters have been killed when their vehicle rolled off a mountainside as they battled a massive wildfire in northern Los Angeles County.

County Deputy Fire Chief Mike Bryant said at a news conference that the two men were amid intense fire near Mt. Gleason in the Angeles National Forest on Sunday afternoon when the vehicle crashed.

A tearful Bryant said the men's families have been notified. He did not release their identities or give a cause for the crash.

The fire has consumed 66 square miles, destroyed at least 18 structures and was threatening some 12,000 homes.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090831/ap_on_re_us/us_california_wildfires


May the firefighters rest in peace and may their families and friends find consolation in knowing they died doing what they loved.

Saving lives.

[samanthajane13]

San Bernardino County fire threatens 2,000 homes



LOS ANGELES – The U.S. Forest Service says a wildfire has forced evacuations and is threatening 2,000 homes in a scenic farm area of San Bernardino County.

A mandatory evacuation is in force Monday for Oak Glen, about 90 minutes east of Los Angeles. The community has many apple orchards in rolling hills below the San Bernardino Mountains.

Forest Service spokeswoman Norma Bailey says the 900-acre blaze began Sunday afternoon and is burning out of control through oak and conifer woodlands.

There's only light wind but humidity is low. The high temperature is expected to top 90 degrees.

Another 2,400-acre blaze that began Thursday near Hemet is 95 percent contained.

Meanwhile, a 134-square-mile blaze continues to threaten 12,000 homes north of Los Angeles.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A massive fire in the Angeles National Forest nearly doubled in size overnight, threatening 12,000 homes Monday in a 20-mile-long swath of flame and smoke and surging toward a mountaintop broadcasting complex.

The fire that burned at least 18 homes was moving north, south and east through the rugged foothills northeast of Los Angeles. Despite the lack of wind, it surged without letup by running through steep granite canyons and feeding on brush that had not burned for 40 years to a century, fire officials said.

"It's burning everywhere," U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman Dianne Cahir said. "When it gets into canyons that haven't burned in numerous years, it takes off. If you have any insight into the good Lord upstairs, put in a request."

The fire had burned 134 square miles of brush and trees by early Monday and was just 5 percent contained.

About 12,000 homes, as well as communications and astronomy centers atop Mount Wilson, were threatened by fire.

At least 6,600 homes were under mandatory evacuation orders and more than 2,500 firefighters were battling the flames. On the blaze's northwestern front, two firefighters were killed Sunday when they drove off the side of a road on Mount Gleason near the city of Acton.

The victims were fire Capt. Tedmund Hall, 47, of San Bernardino County, and firefighter Specialist Arnaldo "Arnie" Quinones, 35, of Palmdale. Hall was a 26-year veteran, and Quinones had been a county firefighter for eight years.

"Our hearts are heavy as we are tragically reminded of the sacrifices our firefighters and their families make daily to keep us safe," Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said in a statement.

With flames about a half-mile away from the communications and astronomy centers on Mount Wilson, crews planned to set more backfires and planes dropped fire retardant around the mountaintop complex, which hold transmitters for more than 20 television stations, many radio stations and cell phone providers.

Television stations said if the antennas burn, broadcast signals would be affected but satellite and cable transmissions would not be.

Two giant telescopes and several multimillion-dollar university programs are housed in the century-old Mount Wilson Observatory. The complex of buildings is both a historic landmark and a thriving modern center for astronomy.

The sheer length of the fire meant that it threatened homes ranging from scattered ranches to multimillion-dollar estates in luxury enclaves.

Mandatory evacuations were in effect for neighborhoods in Glendale, Pasadena and other smoke-choked cities and towns north of Los Angeles.

"Our neighbors sent us photos of all the other houses that are lost," said Beth Halaas, who lost her house in Big Tujunga Canyon, one of the many communities under mandatory evacuation.

The fire was the largest of many burning up and down California after days of triple-digit temperatures and low humidity. The National Weather Service said a red flag warning for extreme fire conditions remained in effect for the mountains of Central and Southern California.

"We know what's coming this afternoon, just the sheer heat and the low humidity," Bill Peters, a spokesman with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, told KTLA-TV.

"The fire makes its own path," Peters said. "It just flows with the terrain. It'll run very quickly uphill and because of the dynamics and the decadent vegetation being so dry, it will drive itself downhill, where normally you need a wind to do that."

Northeast of Sacramento, a fire destroyed 60 structures, many of them homes in the town of Auburn. The fire had wiped out an entire cul-de-sac, leaving only smoldering ruins, a handful of chimneys and burnt cars.

Rick Lund, whose house is nearby but escaped the fire, stood at the end of the cul-de-sac of about 10 homes, watching firefighters attend to what once were the homes of friends and neighbors.

"It's right there," he said, pointing to a house of his 11-year-old daughter's close friend. "Or it was."

The fire had blackened 275 acres amid high winds and was 50 percent contained Sunday night, CalFire spokesman Daniel Berlant. The governor declared a state of emergency in the Sierra foothills area because of the fire, which began Sunday afternoon.

About 30 people waited anxiously at an evacuation center in the Rock Creek Elementary School, including Pam and Stephen Incerty.

"If there's nothing there when we get back, we won't rebuild," Stephen Incerty said of their home on five tree-covered acres of rolling hills. "There'd be no trees, just dirt."

In Mariposa County, a nearly 7-square-mile fire burned in Yosemite National Park and forced the evacuation of about 50 homes. The blaze was 50 percent contained Sunday, said park spokeswoman Vickie Mates. Two people suffered minor injuries, she said.

Hot, dry and windy conditions also helped fan a monthlong wildfire in rural Utah, where residents in the town of New Harmony were told to leave their homes as the blaze flared up over the weekend. The lightning-sparked fire has already destroyed three houses and blackened more than 12 square miles in the Pine Valley Wilderness area.

___

Williams reported from Auburn, Calif. Associated Press writers Christopher Weber and Andrew Dalton in Los Angeles contributed to this report.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090831/ap_on_re_us/us_wildfires

[SaraSidle]

San Bernardino County fire threatens 2,000 homes



LOS ANGELES – The U.S. Forest Service says a wildfire has forced evacuations and is threatening 2,000 homes in a scenic farm area of San Bernardino County.

A mandatory evacuation is in force Monday for Oak Glen, about 90 minutes east of Los Angeles. The community has many apple orchards in rolling hills below the San Bernardino Mountains.

Forest Service spokeswoman Norma Bailey says the 900-acre blaze began Sunday afternoon and is burning out of control through oak and conifer woodlands.

There's only light wind but humidity is low. The high temperature is expected to top 90 degrees.

Another 2,400-acre blaze that began Thursday near Hemet is 95 percent contained.

Meanwhile, a 134-square-mile blaze continues to threaten 12,000 homes north of Los Angeles.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A massive fire in the Angeles National Forest nearly doubled in size overnight, threatening 12,000 homes Monday in a 20-mile-long swath of flame and smoke and surging toward a mountaintop broadcasting complex.

The fire that burned at least 18 homes was moving north, south and east through the rugged foothills northeast of Los Angeles. Despite the lack of wind, it surged without letup by running through steep granite canyons and feeding on brush that had not burned for 40 years to a century, fire officials said.

"It's burning everywhere," U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman Dianne Cahir said. "When it gets into canyons that haven't burned in numerous years, it takes off. If you have any insight into the good Lord upstairs, put in a request."

The fire had burned 134 square miles of brush and trees by early Monday and was just 5 percent contained.

About 12,000 homes, as well as communications and astronomy centers atop Mount Wilson, were threatened by fire.

At least 6,600 homes were under mandatory evacuation orders and more than 2,500 firefighters were battling the flames. On the blaze's northwestern front, two firefighters were killed Sunday when they drove off the side of a road on Mount Gleason near the city of Acton.

The victims were fire Capt. Tedmund Hall, 47, of San Bernardino County, and firefighter Specialist Arnaldo "Arnie" Quinones, 35, of Palmdale. Hall was a 26-year veteran, and Quinones had been a county firefighter for eight years.

"Our hearts are heavy as we are tragically reminded of the sacrifices our firefighters and their families make daily to keep us safe," Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said in a statement.

With flames about a half-mile away from the communications and astronomy centers on Mount Wilson, crews planned to set more backfires and planes dropped fire retardant around the mountaintop complex, which hold transmitters for more than 20 television stations, many radio stations and cell phone providers.

Television stations said if the antennas burn, broadcast signals would be affected but satellite and cable transmissions would not be.

Two giant telescopes and several multimillion-dollar university programs are housed in the century-old Mount Wilson Observatory. The complex of buildings is both a historic landmark and a thriving modern center for astronomy.

The sheer length of the fire meant that it threatened homes ranging from scattered ranches to multimillion-dollar estates in luxury enclaves.

Mandatory evacuations were in effect for neighborhoods in Glendale, Pasadena and other smoke-choked cities and towns north of Los Angeles.

"Our neighbors sent us photos of all the other houses that are lost," said Beth Halaas, who lost her house in Big Tujunga Canyon, one of the many communities under mandatory evacuation.

The fire was the largest of many burning up and down California after days of triple-digit temperatures and low humidity. The National Weather Service said a red flag warning for extreme fire conditions remained in effect for the mountains of Central and Southern California.

"We know what's coming this afternoon, just the sheer heat and the low humidity," Bill Peters, a spokesman with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, told KTLA-TV.

"The fire makes its own path," Peters said. "It just flows with the terrain. It'll run very quickly uphill and because of the dynamics and the decadent vegetation being so dry, it will drive itself downhill, where normally you need a wind to do that."

Northeast of Sacramento, a fire destroyed 60 structures, many of them homes in the town of Auburn. The fire had wiped out an entire cul-de-sac, leaving only smoldering ruins, a handful of chimneys and burnt cars.

Rick Lund, whose house is nearby but escaped the fire, stood at the end of the cul-de-sac of about 10 homes, watching firefighters attend to what once were the homes of friends and neighbors.

"It's right there," he said, pointing to a house of his 11-year-old daughter's close friend. "Or it was."

The fire had blackened 275 acres amid high winds and was 50 percent contained Sunday night, CalFire spokesman Daniel Berlant. The governor declared a state of emergency in the Sierra foothills area because of the fire, which began Sunday afternoon.

About 30 people waited anxiously at an evacuation center in the Rock Creek Elementary School, including Pam and Stephen Incerty.

"If there's nothing there when we get back, we won't rebuild," Stephen Incerty said of their home on five tree-covered acres of rolling hills. "There'd be no trees, just dirt."

In Mariposa County, a nearly 7-square-mile fire burned in Yosemite National Park and forced the evacuation of about 50 homes. The blaze was 50 percent contained Sunday, said park spokeswoman Vickie Mates. Two people suffered minor injuries, she said.

Hot, dry and windy conditions also helped fan a monthlong wildfire in rural Utah, where residents in the town of New Harmony were told to leave their homes as the blaze flared up over the weekend. The lightning-sparked fire has already destroyed three houses and blackened more than 12 square miles in the Pine Valley Wilderness area.

___

Williams reported from Auburn, Calif. Associated Press writers Christopher Weber and Andrew Dalton in Los Angeles contributed to this report.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090831/ap_on_re_us/us_wildfires


I wish that hurricane at Baja California would move up into LA as it weakens.
IMO sara

[samanthajane13]

I agree, Sara.

That would help the firefighters and residents IMMENSELY!!

[samanthajane13]

Wildfire makes menacing advance near Los Angeles
By JOHN ANTCZAK, Associated Press Writer John Antczak, Associated Press Writer – 1 hr 1 min ago

LOS ANGELES – A deadly wildfire that has blackened a wide swath of tinder-dry forest around Los Angeles took another menacing turn Monday as five people became hopelessly trapped inside a smoky canyon and thousands of suburban homes and a vital mountaintop broadcasting complex grew dangerously close to being devoured by explosive, towering flames.

The five trapped people refused to evacuate threatened areas and reported they were stranded at a ranch near Gold Creek, Los Angeles County sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore said. A sheriff's helicopter was unable to immediately reach them because of intense fire activity, but would try after the flames passed, he said.

"What this says is, 'Listen, listen, listen,'" Whitmore said. "Those people were told to get out two days ago, and now we are putting our people in danger to get them out."

Fire crews battling the blaze in the Angeles National Forest tried desperately to beat back the flames and prayed for weather conditions to ease. The fire was the largest of at least eight burning across California after days of triple-digit temperatures and low humidity.

The fire scorched 164 square miles of brush and threatened more than 12,000 homes, but the lack of wind kept them from driving stormily into the hearts of the dense suburbs northeast of Los Angeles.

Columns of smoke billowed high into the air before dispersing into a gauzy white haze that burned eyes and prompted warnings of unhealthy air throughout the Los Angeles area. Smoke could be seen billowing around the fabled Hollywood sign.

"It's burning everywhere," U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman Dianne Cahir said. "When it gets into canyons that haven't burned in numerous years, it takes off. If you have any insight into the good Lord upstairs, put in a request."

The exact number of people injured or threatened by the fire was still not clear. Over the weekend, three people who refused to evacuate were burned when they were overrun by flames, including a couple who had sought refuge in a hot tub, authorities said.

Fire crews set backfires and sprayed fire retardant at Mount Wilson, home to at least 20 television transmission towers, radio and cell phone antennas, and the century-old Mount Wilson Observatory. The observatory also houses two giant telescopes and several multimillion-dollar university programs. It is both a landmark for its historic discoveries and a thriving modern center for astronomy.

The fire about a half-mile away was expected to reach the mountaintop sometime Monday night, said Los Angeles County fire Capt. Mark Whaling. If the flames hit the mountain, cell phone service and TV and radio transmissions would be disrupted, but the extent was unclear.

The blaze killed two firefighters, destroyed at least 21 homes and forced thousands of evacuations. The firefighters died when their truck drove off the side of a road with flames all around them.

The victims were fire Capt. Tedmund Hall, 47, of San Bernardino County, and firefighter Specialist Arnaldo "Arnie" Quinones, 35, of Palmdale. Hall was a 26-year veteran, and Quinones had been a county firefighter for eight years.

Quinones' wife is expecting and due to give birth to their first child in the next few weeks.

Hall and his wife have two boys, ages 20 and 21, and was described as a family-oriented man who loved riding motorcycles.

They died fighting a fire that showed no signs of subsiding Monday. People who fled returned to find their homes gone.

"It's the worst roller coaster of my life, and I hate roller coasters," said Adi Ellad, who lost his home in Big Tujunga Canyon over the weekend. "One second I'm crying, one second I'm guilty, the next moment I'm angry, and then I just want to drink tequila and forget."

Ellad left behind a family heirloom Persian rug and a photo album he put together after his father died. "I'm going to have to figure out a new philosophy: how to live without loving stuff," he said.

The blaze in the Los Angeles foothills is the biggest but not most destructive of California's wildfires. Northeast of Sacramento, a wind-driven fire destroyed 60 structures over the weekend, many of them homes in the town of Auburn.

The 275-acre blaze was 50 percent contained Monday afternoon and full containment was expected Tuesday. It wiped out an entire cul-de-sac, leaving only smoldering ruins, a handful of chimneys and burned cars.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger toured the Auburn area, where only charred remnants of homes remained on Monday. At some houses, the only things left on the foundation are metal cabinets and washers and dryers.


Continued...

[samanthajane13]

"It was embers traveling in the wind, landing on the roofs, landing on attics, getting into that home and burning the home on fire," said Daniel Berlant, spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

Some mandatory evacuation orders were lifted, but most residents are still being told to stay away while crews work to restore electricity and hose down embers.

East of Los Angeles, a 1,000-acre fire threatened 2,000 homes and forced the evacuation of a scenic community of apple orchards in an oak-studded area of San Bernardino County. Brush in the area had not burned for a century, fire officials said. Flames burning like huge candles erupted between rocky slopes of the San Bernardino Mountains and the neat farmhouses below.

With highs topping 100 degrees in some areas and humidity remaining low, the National Weather Service extended a weekend warning of extreme fire conditions in the central and Southern California mountains.

Winds were light, which prevented the flames from roaring at furious speed into towns. In 2003, a wind-whipped blaze tore through neighborhoods in San Diego County, killing 15 people and destroying more than 2,400 homes. That fire burned 273,000 acres — or 427 square miles — the largest in state history.

Overall, more than 2,500 firefighters were on the line. More than 20 helicopters and air tankers were preparing to dump water and retardant over the flames. Two Canadian Super Scoopers, giant craft that can pull thousands of gallons of water from lakes and reservoirs, were expected to join the fight later in the day.

In La Crescenta, where the San Gabriel Mountains descend steeply into the bedroom suburb a dozen miles from downtown Los Angeles, 57-year-old Mary Wilson was experiencing her first wildfire after nine years of living in a canyon.

Her family was evacuated twice in the past five days, she said.

"We saw the flames. My daughter got really scared," she said. But she was philosophical: "You have to surrender to the natural forces when you choose to live up here. It's about nature doing its thing."

Also in La Crescenta, dispatchers overnight activated a "reverse 911" system that sent a recorded evacuation warning to people, but it turned out to be a mistake.

Whaling, the L.A. County fire captain, says the message applied to only a small number of residents closest to the fire but instead a large number got the sleep-shattering calls. He said he does not know how many people were involved in the call.

"They pushed the wrong button," he said.

Terry Crews, an actor promoting the new movie "Gamer" on KTLA-TV, talked about being forced to flee two days ago from his home in Altadena, in the foothills above Pasadena. He saw 40-foot flames, grabbed his dog and fled.

"I've never seen anything like it," he said. "I'm from Michigan. I'm used to tornadoes ... but to see this thing, you feel helpless."

"This is like 'The Ten Commandments,'" he said, referring to the movie. "You go, 'holy God, the end of the world.'"

An animal sanctuary called the Roar Foundation Shambala Preserve, six miles east of Acton, was in the mandatory evacuation zone, but fire officials decided removing the animals would be "a logistical nightmare," said Chris Gallucci, vice president of operations.

"We have 64 big cats, leopards, lions, tigers, cougars. ... The animals are just walking around, not being affected by this at all," Gallucci said. "But if we panic, they panic. But we are not in panic mode yet."

___

Associated Press Writers Samantha Young in Auburn, Tracie Cone in Fresno, and Raquel Maria Dillon and Solvej Schou in Los Angeles contributed to this report.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090901/ap_on_re_us/us_wildfires

[samanthajane13]

LA firefighters killed trying to save inmate crew

By CHRISTINA HOAG and JACOB ADELMAN, Associated Press Writers Christina Hoag And Jacob Adelman, Associated Press Writers – Mon Aug 31, 9:21 pm ET

LOS ANGELES – As the roaring wall of flame raged through the Angeles National Forest, firefighters Ted Hall and Arnie Quinones worked feverishly to protect their fire-crew camp, made up mostly of prison inmates.

But all too suddenly, the fire invaded the campsite. Hall and Quinones shepherded 55 inmates and several corrections and fire personnel into a cinderblock dining hall to shelter them from the blaze.

The fire burned through the camp, leaving it in ruins. The dining hall provided adequate shelter for now, but Hall and Quinones knew they had to get everyone to safety. So they jumped in an engine truck and left to search for an escape route down Mount Gleason.

It proved a fatal move.

Smoke blanketed a winding road that is perilous in the best of conditions. The truck careened off the blacktop, tumbling as it plunged 800 feet down the steep mountainside. The vehicle crashed upside down, killing the two men.

The fire they had tried to outrun quickly caught up to them and left the truck a scorched hulk — a reminder that death lives in the shadows of firefighting.

Quinones, 35, leaves behind a pregnant wife who is due to give birth to the couple's first child in the next few weeks. Hall, 47, had a wife and two adult sons.

The deaths, the second and third of firefighters in the line of duty in California this year, have shaken the ranks of men and women battling the 105,000-acre fire. Morale is dim and the mood somber.

"It hits home," said Los Angeles Fire Capt. Sam Padilla. "This morning my daughter hugged me a little tighter than usual."

The department is sending a crisis management team to the camps that worked closely with Hall and Quinones in the Air and Wildland Division, and will hold a memorial service later this week at the firefighters' staging camp.

"They were selfless," said Terry Thornton, spokeswoman for the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. "They put others' safety ahead of their own."

Hall was a captain with 26 years in the Los Angeles County fire department, while Quinones, a specialist, had eight years of service. They worked together supervising a state Department of Corrections fire crew, which later was rescued from the fire.

Neighbors and colleagues described both men as devoted to their families and their jobs.

Hall lived with his wife Katherine in Oak Hills, a rural area of San Bernardino County where homes sit on 2.5-acre lots. His sons — Randall, 21, and Steven, 20 — and his parents live nearby, neighbors said.

"Ted was very family-oriented," said next-door neighbor Sandy Nuckolls. "He loved going motorcycle riding with his boys."

Quinones lived in Palmdale with his pregnant wife Loressa.

Los Angeles County firefighter Karen Zakowitz, 46, of Fontana, recalled Quinones as a "gung ho and happy person" who was called "Q."

"I would have taken his place in a heartbeat," she said, choking back tears. "The wildland firefighting family is special, even if you don't like each other, you hang together and we're grieving together. You can feel it all across the camp."

The deaths also hit firefighters who have come from around the state to pitch in.

Fremont Fire Capt. Rick Cory, 41, said he immediately called home to let his family know he was safe. "It was pretty shocking," he said. "But it's part of the job. Bad things happen even if you do everything right."

Wildfires pose particular challenges for firefighters because of the rugged terrain and narrow access roads. Firefighters often have limited access to oxygen tanks, and toil in close proximity to flames that are notoriously unpredictable

But that feeling of being on the edge was one reason firefighters said they loved their jobs. "Pretty much anyone who fights fires likes the excitement of it, the adrenaline rush, the atmosphere of the unknown," said U.S. Forest Service firefighter Angie Bishop, 29, of Mendocino County. "It is really scary, but you don't really process that."

___

Associated Press Writer Raquel Dillon contributed to this report.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090901/ap_on_re_us/us_wildfires_firefighters


:rose:RIP-FF Hall & Quinones:rose:

[samanthajane13]

Fire near Los Angeles grows in triple-digit heat
By RAQUEL MARIA DILLON, Associated Press Writer Raquel Maria Dillon, Associated Press Writer – 57 mins ago

LOS ANGELES – A relentless Southern California wildfire raged Tuesday with 53 homes up in smoke, thousands more threatened and new rounds of evacuations as towering flames crackled close to neighborhoods on the northern and southern flanks.

Flames are plowing through half-century-old thickets of tinder-dry brush, bush and trees just 15 miles north of downtown Los Angeles. Firefighters awaited daybreak to learn the new extent of the 6-day-old fire, which is now expected to burn for weeks.

The blaze threatened some 12,000 homes but had already done its worst to the suburban Tujunga Canyon neighborhood, where residents returned to their wrecked homes.

Bert Voorhees and his son on Monday fetched several cases of wine from the brackish water of their backyard swimming pool, about all he salvaged from his home.

"You're going to be living in a lunar landscape for at least a couple of years, and these trees might not come back," the 53-year-old Voorhees said. "Are enough of our neighbors going to rebuild?"

About 2,000 people were chased from their homes in triple-digit heat as fire bosses said it could take weeks to contain the fire. Fire spokesman Paul Lowenthal said Tuesday that the blaze is expected to be fully surrounded Sept. 15.

Some people wouldn't leave. Authorities said five men and one woman refused several orders to evacuate a remote ranch in a canyon near Gold Creek. The Los Angeles County sheriff's office had initially said the people were trapped and could not be rescued.

"When we tried to get them out, they said they're fine, no problem, they didn't want to leave," said fire spokesman Larry Marinas.

Crews fighting the blaze also were contending with favorable fire conditions such as high temperatures topping 100 degrees and low humidity. Temperatures near the fire were expected to hit 102 degrees Tuesday, the National Weather Service said.

By late Monday, the fire had scorched more than more than 164 square miles, or about 105,000 acres, in parts of the Angeles National Forest.

Only 5 percent of the Station fire, the largest of several California wildfires, was contained so far.

The swath of fire extends from the densely populated foothill communities of Altadena, La Canada Flintridge, La Crescenta, Tujunga and Sunland in the south to the high desert ranchlands of Acton.

Beth Halaas knew her creekside home in Big Tujunga Canyon was gone when she saw her favorite Norwegian dishware on television news. But she was desperate to see for herself and cajoled fire officials to escort her through barricaded roads.

"It's just stuff," she murmured, as her 5-year-old son Robert kicked at a deflated soccer ball in his sandbox. She raked ceramic cups from the ashes.

Two firefighters — Capt. Tedmund Hall, 47, of San Bernardino and firefighter Specialist Arnaldo "Arnie" Quinones, 35, of Palmdale — were killed when their vehicle plummeted off a mountain road on Sunday.

The 53 homes destroyed included some forest cabins, said U.S. Forest Service spokesman Dennis Cross. He did not know how many were full-time residences.

Fire crews set backfires and sprayed fire retardant at Mount Wilson, home to at least 20 television transmission towers, radio and cell phone antennas, and the century-old Mount Wilson Observatory. It also houses two giant telescopes and several multimillion-dollar university programs in its role as both a landmark for its historic discoveries and a thriving modern center for astronomy.

If the flames hit the mountain, cell phone service and TV and radio transmissions would be disrupted, but the extent was unclear.

T.J. Lynch and his wife, Maggie, were among residents who evacuated late Monday after the eerie orange glow on the horizon turned into flames cresting the hill near their Tujunga home.

"It's pretty surreal, pretty humbling, how your life is represented in these objects that you collect and then you have to whittle them down," he said, describing the difficulty of choosing what to bring with them.

He said his wife would miss the 1965 Mustang that she has owned since she was a teenager. He would miss the antiques that decorate their home.

"It's a beautiful place — is? Was? I don't know anymore," he said of their home.

The blaze in the Los Angeles foothills was the biggest but not most destructive of California's wildfires. Northeast of Sacramento, a wind-driven fire destroyed 60 structures over the weekend, many of them homes in the town of Auburn.

The 340-acre blaze wiped out an entire cul-de-sac, leaving only smoldering ruins, a handful of chimneys and burned cars.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Monday toured the Auburn area, where only charred remnants of some homes remained. At some houses, the only things left on the foundation are metal cabinets and washers and dryers.

East of Los Angeles, a 1,000-acre fire damaged one home, threatened 2,000 others and forced the evacuation of a scenic community of apple orchards in an oak-studded area of San Bernardino County. Brush in the area had not burned for a century, fire officials said. Flames burning like huge candles erupted between rocky slopes of the San Bernardino Mountains and the neat farmhouses below. A few miles away, a 300-acre wildfire that erupted on the edge of Yucaipa forced the evacuation of 200 homes.

___

Associated Press Writers John Antczak, Daisy Nguyen and Solvej Schou in Los Angeles and Samantha Young in Auburn contributed to this report.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090901/ap_on_re_us/us_wildfires

[samanthajane13]

Firefighters gain on blaze near Los Angeles
By RAQUEL MARIA DILLON, Associated Press Writer Raquel Maria Dillon, Associated Press Writer – 24 mins ago

LOS ANGELES – Firefighters set backfires and removed brush with bulldozers across a huge swath of Southern California forest on Tuesday to try to contain a 190-square-mile wildfire that has destroyed 53 homes and threatened thousands more in foothill suburbs.

The commander of the vast firefighting operation expressed a positive outlook for the first time in the week since the blaze erupted in the Angeles National Forest north of Los Angeles and grew into a giant.

"I'm feeling a lot more optimistic today than I did yesterday and the crews are doing fabulous work out there on the grounds but the bottom line is that they're fighting for every foot," said Mike Dietrich of the U.S. Forest Service.

The fire continued to spread but Dietrich said the containment figure was expected to rise substantially from the current 5 percent after overnight progress was mapped. He noted that bulldozers had carved up to 12 miles of lines and no new structures were lost overnight.

Some 3,600 firefighters and aircraft were working across a 50-mile span to battle the blaze.

Firefighters were keeping a close eye on the weather. Hurricane Jimena roared toward Baja California, but was not forecast to have much of a factor in firefighting efforts because it is expected to dissipate by the time it hits Southern California.

Meteorologist Curt Kaplan says there was a 20 percent chance of a thunderstorm in the fire area Tuesday, but that could end up being a bad thing because the storm could spawn 40-mph wind gusts. The one factor that's helped firefighters this week has been the lack of wind to drive the flames. Kaplan says temperatures will begin slowly cooling later in the week.

"The good news is that it's humidity," Dietrich said. "The bad news is that it may produce lightning, possibly dry lightning, over parts of the fire area."

The blaze threatened some 12,000 homes but had already done its worst to the suburban Tujunga Canyon neighborhood, where residents returned to their wrecked homes.

Bert Voorhees and his son on Monday fetched several cases of wine from the brackish water of their backyard swimming pool, about all he salvaged from his home.

"You're going to be living in a lunar landscape for at least a couple of years, and these trees might not come back," the 53-year-old Voorhees said. "Are enough of our neighbors going to rebuild?"

About 2,000 people were chased from their homes in triple-digit heat as fire bosses said it could take weeks to contain the fire. Fire spokesman Paul Lowenthal said Tuesday that the blaze is expected to be fully surrounded Sept. 15.

Some people wouldn't leave. Authorities said five men and one woman refused several orders to evacuate a remote ranch in a canyon near Gold Creek. The Los Angeles County sheriff's office had initially said the people were trapped and could not be rescued.

"When we tried to get them out, they said they're fine, no problem, they didn't want to leave," said fire spokesman Larry Marinas.

Dietrich said people who choose to stay take their lives in their own hands.

"As the sheriff said, they'll take their next of kin and ask where their dental records are stored and we'll go back in after it. We can't be their guardians or parents."

The swath of fire extends from the densely populated foothill communities of Altadena, La Canada Flintridge, La Crescenta, Tujunga and Sunland on the south to the high desert Acton in the north.

Beth Halaas knew her creekside home in Big Tujunga Canyon was gone when she saw her favorite Norwegian dishware on television news. But she was desperate to see for herself and cajoled fire officials to escort her through barricaded roads.

"It's just stuff," she murmured, as her 5-year-old son Robert kicked at a deflated soccer ball in his sandbox. She raked ceramic cups from the ashes.

Two firefighters — Capt. Tedmund Hall, 47, of San Bernardino and firefighter Specialist Arnaldo "Arnie" Quinones, 35, of Palmdale — were killed when their vehicle plummeted off a mountain road on Sunday. Quinones' wife is expecting a child any week, and Hall has a wife and two adult children.

The 53 homes destroyed included some forest cabins, said U.S. Forest Service spokesman Dennis Cross. He did not know how many were full-time residences.

Fire crews set backfires and sprayed fire retardant at Mount Wilson, home to at least 20 television transmission towers, radio and cell phone antennas, and the century-old Mount Wilson Observatory. It also houses two giant telescopes and several multimillion-dollar university programs in its role as both a landmark for its historic discoveries and a thriving modern center for astronomy.

If the flames hit the mountain, some cell phone service and TV and radio transmissions would be disrupted.

Los Angeles County fire Capt. Mark Whaling said the fire was creeping toward the peak Tuesday.

"It's not big walls of flame," he said. "That's very good."

T.J. Lynch and his wife, Maggie, were among residents who evacuated late Monday after the eerie orange glow on the horizon turned into flames cresting the hill near their Tujunga home.

"It's pretty surreal, pretty humbling, how your life is represented in these objects that you collect and then you have to whittle them down," he said, describing the difficulty of choosing what to bring with them.

He said his wife would miss the 1965 Mustang that she has owned since she was a teenager. He would miss the antiques that decorate their home.

"It's a beautiful place — is? Was? I don't know anymore," he said of their home.

The blaze in the Los Angeles foothills was the biggest but not most destructive of California's wildfires. Northeast of Sacramento, a wind-driven fire destroyed 60 structures over the weekend, many of them homes in the town of Auburn.

The 340-acre blaze wiped out an entire cul-de-sac, leaving only smoldering ruins, a handful of chimneys and burned cars.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Monday toured the Auburn area, where only charred remnants of some homes remained. At some houses, the only things left on the foundation are metal cabinets and washers and dryers.

East of Los Angeles, a 1,000-acre fire damaged one home, threatened 2,000 others and forced the evacuation of a scenic community of apple orchards in an oak-studded area of San Bernardino County. Brush in the area had not burned for a century, fire officials said. Flames burning like huge candles erupted between rocky slopes of the San Bernardino Mountains and the neat farmhouses below. A few miles away, a 300-acre wildfire that erupted on the edge of Yucaipa forced the evacuation of 200 homes.

___

Associated Press Writers John Antczak, Daisy Nguyen and Solvej Schou in Los Angeles and Samantha Young in Auburn contributed to this report.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090901/ap_on_re_us/us_wildfires

[samanthajane13]

Huge wildfire portends bad Calif. fire season
By GREG RISLING, Associated Press Writer Greg Risling, Associated Press Writer – 31 mins ago

LOS ANGELES – Firefighters reported some progress Tuesday against a gigantic blaze on the edge of Los Angeles, but warned that this one might be just a preview of even greater dangers ahead. The peak Southern California fire season hasn't even started yet. The worst fires typically flare up in the fall, when ferocious Santa Ana winds can drive fires out of wilderness areas and into suburbs. As a result, Southern California could be in for a long wildfire season.

"When you see a fire burning like this, with no Santa Ana winds, we know that with the winds, it would be so much worse, so much more intense," said Los Angeles County fire Capt. Mark Whaling.

The Santa Anas are so devastating when they carry fire because they sweep down from the north and reach withering speeds as they squeeze through wilderness canyons and passes and plunge into developed areas.

Even though winds have been mostly calm since the blaze began along the northern fringe of Los Angeles and its suburbs, the flames have spread over 190 square miles of forest in a week. Some 12,000 homes remained threatened as 3,600 firefighters and aircraft battled the blaze across a 50-mile line.

But it was not the only significant blaze in Southern California.

In the inland region east of Los Angeles, 2,000 homes were being threatened by a fire of more than 1.5 square miles in the San Bernardino County community of Oak Glen, and a nearby 1.3-square-mile blaze was putting 900 homes at risk in Yucaipa.

"There's action everywhere," Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said as a helicopter interrupted his comments at a news conference in San Bernardino County.

The big fire, known as the Station Fire, was just 5 percent surrounded, but U.S. Forest Service incident commander Mike Dietrich said that figure could double by the end of the day, and he was pleased with progress.

"There's a lot more work to be done," Dietrich said. "It's still a very treacherous situation. It could still turn around."

Weather was more humid, which helps brush resist burning, but the downside was a possibility of dry lightning. Some sprinkles were reported, but no significant rain.

Officials were worried about the threat to a historic observatory on Mount Wilson northeast of Los Angeles. But on Tuesday, the flames near the facility appeared much tamer than the infernos that boiled up out of the mountain range in previous days.

Authorities could not immediately ascertain whether the fire at the top of Mount Wilson was the result of the overall advance of the blaze or backfires set by fire crews.

From a helicopter above the 5,700-foot peak, small flames could be seen creeping under trees. Firefighters had doused the peak with flame retardant before withdrawing when the fire appeared to be too dangerous.

Mount Wilson is home not only to the observatory but numerous television, radio and cell phone antennas serving the metropolitan area.

"The fire is still eventually going to impact around the site," Dietrich said. "The amount of damage is yet to be seen."

The fire is one of hundreds of wildfires in a season that usually does not gather steam until October, when the Santa Ana winds arrive.

This year's destructive Southern California wildfires began in May, when 80 homes were destroyed and more than a dozen others were damaged in the Santa Barbara area. "Sundowner" winds, a localized version of a Santa Ana, whipped a brush fire into an inferno in neighborhoods on the edge of the Los Padres National Forest.

Wind has not been a problem in the current fire, but drought has. The region is in the midst of a three-year drought, and the tinder-dry forest is ripe for an explosive fire.

Residents had a range of emotions as they watched the fire — and they knew the lack of wind was a godsend.

"I'm a little concerned but not overly worried," said retiree Paul Westmoreland, 77, who lives in the Seven Hills neighborhood in Tujunga. "But if we had had high winds, this whole area would have gone."

Some of the spectators were residents who followed orders to leave but could not resist coming back to their neighborhoods.

Jennifer Pelon, 43, came back Tuesday morning to see if her 3,000-square-foot home on a hillside was still standing. She nervously watched as flames licked a ridgeline only yards from her home.

"It's a lot of stress and anxiety, watching," she said. "It's your whole life up there."

At the huge fire command center, Glendale firefighter-paramedic Jack Hayes, 31, recounted how he manned a 2,000-gallon water truck to extinguish flames bearing down on backyards.

"We've been knocking them all down and saving some homes," he said.

Hayes said he had not taken a day off for a week.

"You can't sleep," said Hayes, who had the beginnings of a beard and bloodshot eyes. "You're ready to go and there's always something you could be doing."

Two firefighters — Capt. Tedmund Hall, 47, of San Bernardino and firefighter Specialist Arnaldo "Arnie" Quinones, 35, of Palmdale — were killed Sunday when their vehicle plummeted off a mountain road. Quinones' wife is expecting a child soon, and Hall had a wife and two adult children.

In Washington, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama sent their condolences to the firefighters' families. Gibbs said the White House will do whatever it can to assist state and local governments.

The Station Fire was the biggest but not the most destructive of the wildfires currently burning in California. Northeast of Sacramento, a fire burning over a half square mile destroyed 60 structures over the weekend, many of them homes in the town of Auburn. The fire was 80 percent contained Tuesday and no longer threatened any homes.

___

Associated Press writers Jacob Adelman and Robert Jablon in Los Angeles and Juliet Williams in Sacramento contributed to this report.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090902/ap_on_re_us/us_wildfires

[samanthajane13]

Evacuation holdouts defy danger to protect homes
By CHRISTINA HOAG and GREG RISLING, Associated Press Writers Christina Hoag And Greg Risling, Associated Press Writers – Wed Sep 2, 3:05 am ET

LOS ANGELES – Mike Tarzian didn't even bother watering down his roof of his Tujunga home. He closed all the windows, leaned a ladder against the house for firefighters and stuck a case of water in the fridge.

Then he went outside to watch for flames with other neighbors who decided to ignore a mandatory evacuation order and stay on their properties.

"It's my house, I don't want anything to happen to it," said the 47-year-old film producer, whose wife and daughter left Monday to stay with friends. "I'd rather be here and leave at the last minute than down the hill not knowing what's happening."

Pockets of holdouts are cropping up all over the swath of Los Angeles County imperiled by the wildfire, exasperating authorities who say people are just plain foolhardy and vastly underestimate the risk they run in hunkering down against the blaze.

One of the most visible holdout episodes in the fire occurred Saturday when two men ignored an evacuation order and remained in the Tujunga home they were staying in. As they were hosing down the roof, flames erupted. The men, whose names have not been released, jumped off the roof into a hot tub and remained there several hours.

The water offered scant protection. The men, aged 53 and 40, sustained second and third-degree burns on their faces, arms and legs from the fire and had to be rescued one at a time by a medivac helicopter after a regular helicopter could not get to the home because of the flames. They were in stable condition Tuesday.

"It was an extraordinarily difficult rescue," said Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department spokesman Steve Whitmore. "It took about 45 minutes and put everybody's lives at risk. If there is a mandatory evacuation order, it means you are in danger right now and get out."

The phenomenon of people refusing to leave their homes arises during virtually every disaster. It has become such an issue in Texas, which has seen its share of hurricane holdouts, that a law went into effect Tuesday giving police the power to arrest residents who refuse to heed a mandatory order.

In California, authorities cannot force residents to leave against their will, only emphasize that they stay at their own risk, said Whitmore.

"It's a combination of bravado, people who won't listen to authority and those who seek adventure," said Irwin Redlener, director of Columbia University's National Center for Disaster Preparedness. "It crosses the line from bravado to stupidity."

About 20 percent of homeowners in a mandatory fire evacuation area stay put, according to a wildfire studies by the National University System Institute for Policy Research in San Diego.

"They're typically men — a type of machismo thing — and have a greater distrust in government's ability to respond to a fire," said Erik Bruvold, institute president. "They're ready and willing to rely on their own individual abilities."

But holdouts say they can better save their homes, especially when firefighting resources run thin. That "stay and defend" strategy, which trains residents in how to protect their properties, has been mostly successful in Australia, and Southern California officials were considering encouraging it earlier this year.

However, after Australian bushfires last summer claimed 130 lives, the idea has been largely abandoned in California.

That hasn't daunted Joseph Stachura. He's staying with his 3,500-square-foot home in Big Tujunga Canyon where he has his own well and a pump that can drain 12,000 gallons of water from his pool. He has also stocked fireproofing gel to spray on his roof along with other firefighting supplies.

"Sometimes it really is up to you to save your house," said Stachura, 45, who owns a theater. "It's not like people are standing around out here doing nothing."

That was the key reason why Charlie Seo stayed behind to protect his La Crescenta home. "What if firefighters can't make it to every house?" the 29-year-old high school chemistry teacher said.

He and a dozen neighbors banded together to form a 24-hour patrol, forming a rotation of three-hour shifts to keep a watch out for flying embers so they could be immediately doused. Neighbors who evacuated left out their garden hoses and showed those who stayed where sprinkler switches were located.

"We weren't trying to be defiant and we're not here to cause more trouble," Seo said. "But it's our home and if we lose it, we lose a lot."

Some believe authorities overstate the danger. "They're erring on the side of caution," Tarzian said. "If we really feel the threat of flames, we're going. I've got my motorcycle. I'll just blast down the hill."


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090902/ap_on_re_us/us_wildfires_holdouts_1

[samanthajane13]

Weather helping fight against massive LA blaze
By RAQUEL MARIA DILLON, Associated Press Writer Raquel Maria Dillon, Associated Press Writer – 9 mins ago

LOS ANGELES – Firefighters made more progress Wednesday against a giant wildfire that has ravaged a national forest north of Los Angeles, with another day of cooperative weather providing a big assist to beleaguered fire crews.

The blaze in the Angeles National Forest had burned nearly 219 square miles, or 140,150 acres, by early Wednesday. Firefighters have created a perimeter around 22 percent of the blaze, largely by removing brush with bulldozers and setting controlled burns. Bulldozers still have 95 miles of fire line to build.

"The crews are making excellent progress based on the improved weather conditions," U.S. Forest Service incident commander Mike Dietrich at a Wednesday news conference.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger visited the fire area Wednesday morning and served breakfast to firefighters, scooping Cream of Wheat into paper bowls and giving them plenty of protein so "they get all pumped up for the next fight out there with those fires."

Since erupting Aug. 26, the blaze has more than five dozen homes, killed two firefighters and forced thousands of people from their homes. The cause was still not known.

Officials also were keeping a close eye on the wind, which had been calm overnight but could pick up Wednesday afternoon and move flames closer to homes and a historic observatory. Mount Wilson is currently strongly defended.

U.S. Forest Service incident commander Mike Dietrich was not willing to say a corner had been turned.

In a hillside neighborhood of Glendale, Frank Virgallito stood in a group anxiously watching a controlled burn edge toward their neighborhood.

Virgallito said he and his neighbors had been on high alert since Friday but ignored a voluntary evacuation.

"You don't sleep well," Virgallito said. "I get up every hour and a half or two hours to get a good view of where the fire is. For four days we've been a little sleep-deprived. It's unnerving."

Virgallito said he saw deer, coyote and skunks scampering down his street away from the heat and ash of the smoldering wilderness.

Officials also worried about the threat to a historic observatory and TV, radio and other antennas on Mount Wilson northeast of Los Angeles. But on Tuesday, firefighters set backfires near the facilities before a giant World War II-era seaplane-turned-air tanker made a huge water drop on flames inching toward the peak from the north and west.

By nightfall, 150 firefighters and engines were stationed at the peak to defend the towers, said fire spokesman Paul Lowenthal.

The flames crossed the Angeles Crest Highway into the San Gabriel Wilderness to the east on Tuesday, Lowenthal said. Firefighters made progress on fire breaks to the north near Acton and southwest from Altadena to the Sunland neighborhood.

Firefighters and longtime residents know it could be so much worse. Autumn is the season for the ferocious Santa Ana winds to sweep in from the northeastern deserts, gaining speed through narrow mountain canyons, sapping moisture from vegetation and pushing flames farther out into the suburbs.

"If we had Santa Anas, we still have all this open land here on the western flank and islands of vegetation would throw embers into the air, which would blow down to the homes," Fire spokesman Henry Martinez said, his voice trailing off as he imagined the worst-case scenario. "Let's hope that doesn't happen."

The wildfire season usually doesn't gather steam until the winds hit in October, but the Station fire has been driven by dryness instead of wind. The region is in the midst of a three-year drought, and the tinder-dry forest is ripe for an explosive fire.

Fire officials said 12,000 homes were threatened, but as evacuations are lifted, that number will likely fall.

Smoke billowed thousands of feet up in the air, forming what firefighters call an "ice cap," which dissipated and was pushed east for at least 800 miles.

In Colorado, smoke from the Station Fire combined with soot from local fires to block mountain views from Denver.

"That really speaks to the columns of smoke and how much burning was going on," said Norv Larson, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Grand Junction, Colo.

"I've put haze in the forecast. I don't see it ending anytime soon," Larson said. "We've got our fires here, you've got your fires there."

Flames charred other parts of Southern California, including one that burned at least 1.5 square miles in the San Bernardino County community of Oak Glen and another that threatened 400 homes in Yucaipa and was at 70 percent containment.

"There's action everywhere," Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said as a helicopter interrupted his comments at a news conference in San Bernardino County.

Lance Williams, 49, managed to save his aunt's home in Delta Flats, a remote community tucked in a canyon in the Angeles National Forest, but returned Tuesday to find his neighbors' homes in ashes.

"It looked like hell," Williams said. "The fire was creating its own winds. There was no way of predicting which way it would go."

He said he used a water pump to fight off the firestorm that raced down hillsides into the canyon. By the time he ran out of water, fire crews had arrived to defend the home that had been in his family since 1945.

Near the remains of house, the charred frames of animal cages swayed in a light wind. In one of the cages, the remains of three small dogs were found.

The massive fire also took a toll on firefighters who bunk down each night in tents at the huge fire command center. Glendale firefighter-paramedic Jack Hayes, 31, said he had not taken a day off for a week.

"You can't sleep," said Hayes, who had the beginnings of a beard and bloodshot eyes. "You're ready to go and there's always something you could be doing."

Two firefighters — Capt. Tedmund Hall, 47, of San Bernardino and firefighter Specialist Arnaldo "Arnie" Quinones, 35, of Palmdale — were killed Sunday when their vehicle plummeted off a mountain road. Quinones' wife is expecting a child soon, and Hall had a wife and two adult children.

___

Associated Press writers Greg Risling, Thomas Watkins, Daisy Nguyen and Jacob Adelman in Los Angeles contributed to this report.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090902/ap_on_re_us/us_wildfires_101

[samanthajane13]

Fire official: Big LA forest fire human caused
By JACOB ADELMAN and RAQUEL MARIA DILLON, Associated Press Writers Jacob Adelman And Raquel Maria Dillon, Associated Press Writers – 53 mins ago

LOS ANGELES – Firefighters made more progress Wednesday against a giant wildfire that has ravaged a national forest north of Los Angeles as investigators searched for information about how the fire started.

Officials are still trying to figure out what set off the blaze in the Angeles National Forest that had burned nearly 219 square miles, or 140,150 acres, by early Wednesday. Deputy incident commander Carlton Joseph said Wednesday that the fire was human-caused, but it's not known specifically how it was started or whether it was accidental or arson.

Joseph said a human cause could include a range of things from a dropped cigarette to a spark from something like a lawn mower. Joseph says investigators have several leads and notes that lightning has been ruled out as a possible cause.

Firefighters have created a perimeter around 22 percent of the blaze, largely by removing brush with bulldozers and setting controlled burns. Bulldozers still have 95 miles of fire line to build, mostly on the blaze's eastern front near the San Gabriel Wilderness Area.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger visited the fire area Wednesday morning and served breakfast to firefighters, scooping Cream of Wheat into paper bowls and giving them plenty of protein so "they get all pumped up for the next fight out there with those fires."

"The crews are making excellent progress based on the improved weather conditions," U.S. Forest Service incident commander Mike Dietrich said at a Wednesday news conference.

Since erupting Aug. 26, the blaze has destroyed more than five dozen homes, killed two firefighters and forced thousands of people from their homes.

Officials also were keeping a close eye on the wind, which had been calm overnight but could pick up Wednesday afternoon and move flames closer to homes and a historic observatory on Mount Wilson.

In a hillside neighborhood of Glendale, Frank Virgallito stood in a group anxiously watching a controlled burn edge toward their neighborhood.

Virgallito said he and his neighbors had been on high alert since Friday but ignored a voluntary evacuation.

"You don't sleep well," Virgallito said. "I get up every hour and a half or two hours to get a good view of where the fire is. For four days we've been a little sleep-deprived. It's unnerving."

Virgallito said he saw deer, coyote and skunks scampering down his street away from the heat and ash of the smoldering wilderness.

Officials also worried about the threat to a historic observatory and TV, radio and other antennas on Mount Wilson northeast of Los Angeles. But on Tuesday, firefighters set backfires near the facilities before a giant World War II-era seaplane-turned-air tanker made a huge water drop on flames inching toward the peak from the north and west.

By nightfall, 150 firefighters and engines were stationed at the peak to defend the towers, said fire spokesman Paul Lowenthal.

The flames crossed the Angeles Crest Highway into the San Gabriel Wilderness to the east on Tuesday, Lowenthal said. Firefighters made progress on fire breaks to the north near Acton and southwest from Altadena to the Sunland neighborhood.

Firefighters and longtime residents know it could be so much worse. Autumn is the season for the ferocious Santa Ana winds to sweep in from the northeastern deserts, gaining speed through narrow mountain canyons, sapping moisture from vegetation and pushing flames farther out into the suburbs.

"If we had Santa Anas, we still have all this open land here on the western flank and islands of vegetation would throw embers into the air, which would blow down to the homes," Fire spokesman Henry Martinez said, his voice trailing off as he imagined the worst-case scenario. "Let's hope that doesn't happen."

The wildfire season usually doesn't gather steam until the winds hit in October, but the fire has been driven by dryness instead of wind. The region is in the midst of a three-year drought, and the tinder-dry forest is ripe for an explosive fire.

Fire officials said 12,000 homes were threatened, but as evacuations are lifted, that number will likely fall.

Smoke billowed thousands of feet up in the air, forming what firefighters call an "ice cap," which dissipated and was pushed east for at least 800 miles.

In Colorado, smoke from the Station Fire combined with soot from local fires to block mountain views from Denver.

"That really speaks to the columns of smoke and how much burning was going on," said Norv Larson, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Grand Junction, Colo.

"I've put haze in the forecast. I don't see it ending anytime soon," Larson said. "We've got our fires here, you've got your fires there."

Flames charred other parts of Southern California, including one that burned at least 1.5 square miles in the San Bernardino County community of Oak Glen and another that threatened 400 homes in Yucaipa and was at 70 percent containment.

"There's action everywhere," Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Tuesday as a helicopter interrupted his comments at a news conference in San Bernardino County.

Lance Williams, 49, managed to save his aunt's home in Delta Flats, a remote community tucked in a canyon in the Angeles National Forest, but returned Tuesday to find his neighbors' homes in ashes.

"It looked like hell," Williams said. "The fire was creating its own winds. There was no way of predicting which way it would go."

He said he used a water pump to fight off the firestorm that raced down hillsides into the canyon. By the time he ran out of water, fire crews had arrived to defend the home that had been in his family since 1945.

Near the remains of house, the charred frames of animal cages swayed in a light wind. In one of the cages, the remains of three small dogs were found.

The massive fire also took a toll on firefighters who bunk down each night in tents at the huge fire command center. Glendale firefighter-paramedic Jack Hayes, 31, said he had not taken a day off for a week.

"You can't sleep," said Hayes, who had the beginnings of a beard and bloodshot eyes. "You're ready to go and there's always something you could be doing."

Two firefighters — Capt. Tedmund Hall, 47, of San Bernardino and firefighter Specialist Arnaldo "Arnie" Quinones, 35, of Palmdale — were killed Sunday when their vehicle plummeted off a mountain road. Quinones' wife is expecting a child soon, and Hall had a wife and two adult children.

___

Associated Press writers Robert Jablon, Greg Risling, Thomas Watkins and Daisy Nguyen in Los Angeles contributed to this report.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090902/ap_on_re_us/us_wildfires

[samanthajane13]

Investigators look for clues into cause of CA fire
By JACOB ADELMAN, Associated Press Writer Jacob Adelman, Associated Press Writer – 1 hr 35 mins ago

LOS ANGELES – Investigators gathered along a remote road in a blackened forest Wednesday and hunted for clues at the spot where a gigantic blaze ignited more than a week ago and quickly grew into one of the largest wildfires in Southern California history.

Deputy incident commander Carlton Joseph said the fire was "human-caused," meaning it could have been ignited by a range of scenarios, from a dropped cigarette to a spark from something like a lawn mower. Joseph says investigators have several leads and notes that lightning has been ruled out as a possible cause.

A trio of U.S. Forest Service investigators wearing black gloves spent most of the day beneath a partially burned oak tree at the bottom of a ravine, believed to be the spot where the fire started. One investigator shook soil in a can, while another used binoculars to get a closer look. They also had planted red, blue and yellow flags to signify important locations at the site.

The investigation unfolded as firefighters made more progress Wednesday against the wildfire that has ravaged the Angeles National Forest, with higher humidity and a lack of wind providing a big boost. The blaze that had burned nearly 219 square miles, or 140,150 acres, by Wednesday.

"The crews are making excellent progress based on the improved weather conditions," U.S. Forest Service incident commander Mike Dietrich said.

Firefighters have created a perimeter around 22 percent of the blaze, largely by removing brush with bulldozers and setting controlled burns. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger visited the fire area Wednesday and served breakfast to firefighters, scooping Cream of Wheat into paper bowls and giving them plenty of protein so "they get all pumped up for the next fight out there with those fires."

Since erupting Aug. 26, the blaze has destroyed more than five dozen homes, killed two firefighters and forced thousands of people from their homes.

Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca said only 50 homes in his jurisdiction remained under mandatory evacuation Wednesday, down from 4,000 on Tuesday. He said that about 2,000 homes in the city jurisdiction were under mandatory evacuation orders.

Some people still remained at shelters, happy to be away from the fire and smoky conditions that made breathing difficult.

Melba Cordero, 42, said she and her four children arrived on Sunday after being evacuating from her Tujunga Canyon home.

"It was horrible. We had dry cough, and the kids were getting sick. The heat was intense, and the air was very poor," she said as her children, ages 12, 10, 6 and 3, played with teddy bear and coloring books given out by shelter staff.

Nevertheless, Cordero said she's been feeling anxious and stressed out about her house.

"When is it going to end? When can be go back?" she asked. "The kids have school next week. We should be getting them ready for school."

Officials also worried about the threat to a historic observatory and TV, radio and other antennas on Mount Wilson northeast of Los Angeles. But firefighters were effectively holding back the flames and keeping them from doing any major damage.

The fire also took a toll on firefighters who bunk down each night in tents at the huge fire command center. Glendale firefighter-paramedic Jack Hayes, 31, said he had not taken a day off for a week.

"You can't sleep," said Hayes, who had the beginnings of a beard and bloodshot eyes. "You're ready to go and there's always something you could be doing."

___

Associated Press writers Robert Jablon, Greg Risling, Thomas Watkins and Daisy Nguyen in Los Angeles contributed to this report.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090902/ap_on_re_us/us_wildfires

[samanthajane13]

Feds failed to clear brush in LA wildfire area
By MICHAEL R. BLOOD, Associated Press Writer Michael R. Blood, Associated Press Writer – 31 mins ago

LOS ANGELES – Federal authorities failed to follow through on plans earlier this year to burn away highly flammable brush in a forest on the edge of Los Angeles to avoid the very kind of wildfire now raging there, The Associated Press has learned.

Months before the huge blaze erupted, the U.S. Forest Service obtained permits to burn away the undergrowth and brush on more than 1,700 acres of the Angeles National Forest. But just 193 acres had been cleared by the time the fire broke out, Forest Service resource officer Steve Bear said.

The agency defended its efforts, saying weather, wind and environmental rules tightly limit how often these "prescribed burns" can be conducted.

Bear said crews using machinery and hand tools managed to trim 5,000 acres in the forest this year before the money ran out. Ideally, "at least a couple thousand more acres" would have been cleared.

Could more have been done to clear tinder-dry hillsides and canyons?

"We don't necessarily disagree with that," Bear said. "We weren't able to complete what we wanted to do."

Some critics suggested that protests from environmentalists contributed to the disaster, which came after the brush was allowed to build up for as much as 40 years.

"This brush was ready to explode," said Los Angeles County Supervisor Mike Antonovich, whose district overlaps the forest. "The environmentalists have gone to the extreme to prevent controlled burns, and as a result we have this catastrophe today."

Prescribed burns are intended to protect homes and lives by eliminating fuel that can cause explosive wildfires. The wildfire that has blackened 140,000 acres — or nearly 219 square miles — in the forest over the past week has been fed by the kind of tinder-dry vegetation that prescribed burns are designed to safely devour.

The blaze has destroyed more than five dozen homes, killed two firefighters and forced thousands of people to flee. Firefighters reported modest progress Wednesday as investigators said the blaze was human-caused, though it was not clear exactly how the fire started or whether it was accidental or arson.

Figures from the California's South Coast Air Quality Management District suggested even less was protectively burned.

The agency said it granted six permits sought by the Forest Service to conduct prescribed burns on 1,748 acres in the forest this year. The agency reviews such requests to ensure air quality in the often-smoggy Los Angeles area will not be worsened by smoke from intentional fires.

But records show only 12.8 acres burned.

Four of the permits, totaling 1,257 acres, were granted in areas involved in the wildfire, according to the air quality agency.

But the Forest Service disputed those figures. Bear said 193 acres were cleared by intentionally set fires.

Government firefighters set thousands of blazes each year to reduce the wildfire risk in overgrown forests and grasslands around the nation. Prescribed burns can also be used to improve overall forest health and increase forage for wildlife.

Obtaining the necessary permits is a complicated process, and such efforts often draw protests from environmentalists.

Biologist Ileene Anderson with the Center for Biological Diversity, an environmental organization, said burn permits should be difficult to get because of the potential damage to air quality. Clearing chaparral by hand or machine must be closely scrutinized because it can hurt native species.

"Our air quality, for a variety of factors, doesn't need to be further reduced by these controlled burns," she said.

Setting pre-emptive fires can be especially risky near heavily populated urban areas like Los Angeles because of the danger of flames burning out of control. Last month, a 90-acre prescribed burn near Foresta, on the edge of Yosemite National Park, jumped fire lines and consumed more than 7 square miles in the park.

On Tuesday, Angeles National Forest Supervisor Jody Noiron defended his employees' efforts to reduce the fire risk. "The Angeles Forest has been pretty aggressive about implementing fuels-reduction projects with the funds we are given," she said.

Los Angeles fire Capt. Steve Ruda said that pre-emptive fires were used more frequently in the region in the 1980s. But a growing backcountry population and increasingly complicated environmental rules have made them less frequent.

Conducting a prescribed burn requires a detailed study of wind, terrain, temperature and humidity and reviews by a host of government entities, including air-quality regulators.

Max Moritz, co-director of the Center for Fire Research and Outreach at the University of California at Berkeley, said there is wide discussion about the need to do more prescribed burns to reduce the fire hazard. But "you have this difficult needle you have to thread to find the right place, the right conditions, to pull it off," Moritz said.

Ultimately, he said, the answer is to stop building in fire-prone areas instead of spending huge sums on firefighting.

Steve Brink, a vice president with the California Forestry Association, an industry group, said as many as 8 million acres of national forest in California are overgrown and at risk of wildfire. He said that too few days provide the conditions necessary for larger, prescribed burns and that the Forest Service needs to speed up programs to thin forests, largely by machine.

"Special interest groups that don't want them to do it have appeals and litigation through the courts to stall or stop any project they wish. Consequently, the Forest Service is not able to put a dent in the problem," Brink said.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090903/ap_on_re_us/us_wildfires_prescribed_burns

[samanthajane13]

Fire prompts evacuations, but crews make progress
By RAQUEL MARIA DILLON, Associated Press Writer Raquel Maria Dillon, Associated Press Writer – 31 mins ago

LOS ANGELES – Firefighters brought a sprawling wildfire near Los Angeles under greater control Thursday, despite a flare-up in a remote canyon that prompted about 25 nearby residents to be evacuated.

The blaze was 38 percent contained Thursday morning, up from 28 percent the previous day. The fire now measures 144,743 acres, or 226 square miles, and is one of the largest wildfires in Southern California history.

Despite the overall progress, firefighters encountered a flare-up in the canyon as strong downslope winds "just kind of blew the fire up," said U.S. Forest Service official John Huschke. Twenty-five people in 11 homes were evacuated.

"Everything else looks really good," he said.

Some 12,000 homes in foothill communities below the fire's southeastern edge officially remained threatened, although other communities farther west that were under siege for days were out of danger.

The forecast called for hot and dry weather in the next couple days, with Thursday's high hovering around 100 in the fire area, the National Weather Service said.

The wildfire, now in its eighth day, destroyed 64 homes, burned three people and left two firefighters dead. During the night, a firefighter injured his leg when he fell 20 foot from a cliff and was taken to a hospital by a medical helicopter, officials said. He was in stable condition.

Full containment was expected Sept. 15, meaning fire officials expect that they will have the blaze completely surrounded by then.

Many homes were saved, but damaged areas looked like war zones to some returning evacuees.

"It's like, is this really our house? Is it really still here?" T.J. Lynch said about returning to his home in the Tujunga neighborhood late Wednesday. "Because we had made peace with the fact that we'd never see our stuff again."

"It looks like nothing changed, but when the sun comes up tomorrow, I expect we'll see the hills blackened and gray," the screenwriter said. "We'll hike up the hill and see how close it came to our neighbors."

Officials said they were pleased with the progress, but said they have much more work ahead.

"We're changing the pace and treating this as a marathon," U.S. Forest Service incident commander Mike Dietrich said. "If it were a 26-mile race, we'd only be at mile six."

The search for what sparked the blaze intensified Wednesday when U.S. Forest Service investigators gathered along a road in a blackened forest to hunt for clues near where the fire started. They shook soil in a can and planted red, blue and yellow flags to mark evidence beneath a partially burned oak tree at the bottom of a ravine.

Deputy incident commander Carlton Joseph said the fire was "human-caused," meaning it could have been started by anything from a dropped cigarette to a spark from something like a lawn mower. Forest Service officials said there was no lightning in the area at the time and no power lines in the vicinity, but later backtracked on Joseph's comments, saying they are looking at all possible causes.

"The only thing I can say is it is possibly human activity," Forest Service Commander Rita Wears said.

The fire also cast a smoky haze over the Los Angeles area and gave the night sky an eerie glow. The smoke spread throughout the West, affecting air quality in Las Vegas and combining with soot from local fires to block mountain views in Denver.

___

Associated Press writers Greg Risling, Thomas Watkins, Jacob Adelman and Daisy Nguyen in Los Angeles contributed to this report.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090903/ap_on_re_us/us_wildfires

[samanthajane13]

Firefighters gaining on Los Angeles-area wildfire
By RAQUEL MARIA DILLON, Associated Press Writer Raquel Maria Dillon, Associated Press Writer – 22 mins ago

LOS ANGELES – Fire bosses declared progress early Friday in taming the 226-square-mile arson fire north of Los Angeles that has led to a homicide investigation into the deaths of two firefighters.

Flames had died down early Friday and the blaze, which was 42 percent surrounded, was "pretty quiet," fire spokesman John Huschke said.

Firefighters were using bulldozers to clear a containment line around the fire, which destroyed 64 homes and burned three people.

The fire has charred 148,258 acres of the Angeles National Forest, where many city residents escape to nature during the summer.

Investigators determined on Thursday that the 11-day-old blaze was arson, and Los Angeles County sheriff's homicide detectives were investigating.

Two firefighters were killed Sunday when their truck plunged 800 feet down a steep mountain road.

Incendiary material was found along Angeles Crest Highway, the Los Angeles Times reported Friday, citing an unidentified source close to the investigation. The massive blaze is thought to have started in the area.

Sheriff Lee Baca said details were being withheld to avoid jeopardizing the hunt for the arsonist.

County Deputy Fire Chief Mike Bryant said he was glad investigators were making progress in the probe, but "it doesn't mend my broken heart."

"Those were two great men that died," he said. "We've got to put this fire out so no one else gets hurt."

"When you find out it is intentionally set, it's hard to take. A death is a death, but it's so senseless when it's deliberately set," Huschke said.

A tribute for the two fallen firefighters was held before dawn Friday at the camp. Hundreds of firefighters took off their caps and helmets and bowed their heads as the men were remembered with speeches and a moment of silence.

Elsewhere, a 25-acre wildfire broke out just after midnight about 60 miles southeast in Orange County in the Cleveland National Forest, county fire Capt. Greg McKeown said. No homes were threatened.

On Thursday, a six-member firefighting crew mopping up in Angeles National Forest was overcome by fumes, apparently from the smoldering remains of a makeshift methamphetamine lab. Huschke said a hazardous materials squad was called in and one firefighter was hospitalized overnight.

Hand crews and water-dropping helicopters had almost contained the fire's western flank in rugged canyons, but 65 miles of fire line have yet to be cut, U.S. Forest Service Incident Commander Mike Dietrich said.

A historic observatory and TV, radio and other antennas on Mount Wilson, which at one point was dangerously close to the flames, were "looking pretty darn good," he said, but the fire was pushing east into the wilderness and down toward foothill cities of Monrovia, Sierra Madre and Pasadena.

Even in a landscape blackened by wildfire, clues abound for investigators following the path of a blaze and trying to find out how it started. Investigators start where firefighters were first called and work backward.

Jeff Tunnell, a wildfire investigator for the Bureau of Land Management, said even in charred terrain, investigators can detect important signs in the soot.

"Fire creates evidence as well as destroys it," said Tunnell, a veteran of 50 wildfires who is based in Ukiah. "We can follow fire progression back to the point at which it started."

Clues can come from burned trees and grasses, where the amount of burned foliage can show the direction and speed a fire was moving. Investigators search for the remains of whatever started the fire: a charred match or cigarette butt, a piece of metal from a car or part of a power cable. If no such object is found, they often conclude that a fire was "hot set," meaning it was started by a person holding a lighter to the brush.

"That's what you are going to assume, because there's no other competent ignition source," he said.

Most wildfires are caused by human activity. Even a fire caused by a singed squirrel tumbling from an electrical transformer is designated as human-caused, because humans put the electric box there, Tunnell said. Other wildfire causes are lightning and volcanoes.

At the time the current fire broke out, Forest Service officials said there was no lightning and there were no power lines nearby.

Three years ago, arson investigators probing the cause of a wildfire in the San Jacinto Mountains that killed five firefighters discovered evidence of different types of incendiary devices at several fires. They recovered everything from simple paper matches to more elaborate devices made up of wooden matches grouped around a cigarette and secured with duct tape or a rubber band.

The evidence was enough to build a first-degree murder case against mechanic Raymond Lee Oyler. In March, the evidence was used to convict him and send him to death row.

___

Associated Press writers Greg Risling, Thomas Watkins and Jacob Adelman contributed to this report.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090904/ap_on_re_us/us_wildfires

[samanthajane13]

In wildfires, it takes a city to save a city
By ALLEN G. BREED, AP National Writer Allen G. Breed, Ap National Writer – 38 mins ago

LOS ANGELES – "Good morning!" Capt. Chip Paulson shouts from the canvas deck chair beside his fire engine. Never mind that it's just shy of 4 p.m.

With smoke from wildfires turning day into night, flame burning night into day, the Escondido firefighter figures he might as well call it morning. And at the massive incident base camp in northern Los Angeles, half the population is always beginning another long day of fighting fire.

Clinging to the sere foothills overlooking the massive Hansen Dam, the camp is a military-style bivouac whose itinerant residents are battling back the flames from the largest wildfire that has ever threatened the "City of Angels" and its foothill suburbs.

"This is a city," U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman Barbara Rebiskie says as she looks out over the mass of trailers and the clusters of dome tents that have sprouted like mushrooms on the soccer and baseball fields above the dam. "It's like you watch it grow overnight."

There are 4,700 people working the fire, with crews from as far away as Canada and New Mexico. And every one of them has to be paid, fed, showered

On the main street of the camp, trailers line the tarmac like concessions on a carnival midway. There's one for timesheets, another for equipment check-out, and others for communications, logistics and emergency medical care.

"You name it," says Rebiskie, "it's here."

In the 100-degree heat, the stew of odors from diesel fuel, portable toilets, frying meat and burning wood is almost overpowering at times. In some places, the carbon monoxide from idling vehicles was so thick that the Department of Health cordoned off areas with police tape.

In the dirt parking lot where the crews park their engines, tankers rumble up and down spraying water in a seemingly futile effort to keep down the dust. But life at the camp is far from spartan.

Beyond the truck area, 16 tractor trailers idle 24 hours a day. Inside each trailer, two rows of bunks stacked three high can accommodate 42 people in air-conditioned splendor.

With their black lights and carpeted walls, it's almost possible to forget the fires raging nearby.

"Once you get in there, you don't know whether it's night or day," says the mustachioed Paulson. "We get a good solid six hours of real sleep inside of there."

Nearby, two trailers house a couple dozen spacious shower stalls — the men's curtains adorned with toucans and parrots, the women's with buttercups and cosmos. A nearby hydrant supplies 50 pounds per square inch of water pressure, and the units can heat that water to a scalding 113 degrees Fahrenheit.

"They're taking all cold ones right now," laughs shower attendant Jason Hammons.

As he stands by a sink outside one of the showers, shaving cream still clinging to his ear lobes, firefighter Kenny Kelley from San Bernardino says he's worked many blazes where personal hygiene was a toothbrush and a bottle of water out in the woods.

"It's definitely good to show up to," says Kelley, 24, a college student, his bare chest and arms revealing a nasty case of poison oak. "It's not home, obviously, but it's somewhat close."

Across the camp, another white trailer contains 10 washers and dryers that run 24 hours a day. A sign outside reads: "Please unroll socks & empty pockets & leave the rest to us!"

Manager Duane Burden says he's using 6,000 gallons of water and 50 pounds of detergent a day to do 3,000 pounds of wash.

Twenty-four hours after dropping off his laundry, San Diego-based firefighter Chris Miller walked away from the trailer with a hot cup of coffee in one hand, a white bag of clean clothes in the other and a smile on his tanned face.

"As soon as you go on the line, it's pretty much the way it was when you brought it in," he says. "It's still nice having clean socks on when you wake up."

Nearby, men and women line up for chow. Fifteen minutes before serving time, the line is more than 100 deep, the blues and reds of the firefighters' uniforms interspersed with the greens of forestry workers and the bright orange of the more than 200 state inmates helping to fight the fires.

This night, the menu includes steak, baked potatoes, broccoli and cauliflower with cheese, garlic bread, carrot cake and tropical fruit. Because of the shifts, a freshly showered crew is always being replaced at table by another soot-smudged one straight from the fire lines.

After they've finished feeding their bodies, there's even a place on site where the firefighters can nourish their souls.

Down by the inmate quarter, "Chaplain Will" Steere has pitched a large tent beside his Winnebago Vector and equipped it with 50 folding chairs. The 77-year-old former tour company owner used to guide people to the homes of Hollywood stars, but since 1991 he's been traveling from wildfire to wildfire, offering spiritual comfort to a group he thought deserved it.

"They're looking at hell all day," he says. "And I'm showing them a way out of hell."

Throughout the day, helicopters circle constantly overhead. The whirring blades make Susan Al Wardi homesick for Iraq.

Al Wardi, 22, worked four years as a translator for U.S. security forces in Baghdad's "Green Zone." She immigrated a year ago Saturday, but it was nine months before she was able to find a minimum-wage job with the California Conservation Corps — a youth development organization whose members are policing the base camp, filling ice chests and performing other odd chores.

Despite the humidity, 16-hour days and sleeping in a tent on the hard ground, Al Wardi is happy to be here and to be employed.

"I like to do hard work," she says, her dark eyes smiling beneath her blue cap. "I either want to become a lawyer or a nurse."

At 6 a.m. and 6 p.m., the crews gather in a clearing near the mess hall for their pre-shift briefing. They cluster around a plywood stage festooned with giant topographical maps of the surrounding hills.

On Friday morning, a private memorial service was held for the two firefighters who died Sunday. Beside the briefing stage, a shovel, fire rake and ax were lashed together between two enwreathed photographs of the dead firemen, and a flag was placed at half staff.

Despite signs everywhere warning the fatigued smoke eaters not to pound energy drinks, Medical Unit Leader Keith Douglass feels the need to repeat the admonition at the briefing.

"They REALLY dehydrate you," he shouts. "And if you get too dehydrated, you may end up in the hospital for a long while. And, believe me, you won't like the food over there."

With the help of high humidity and low winds, the crews have managed to contain more than 40 percent of the fire. Deputy Incident Commander Carlton Joseph says this isn't the time to let up.

"This is an opportunity to really jump on it and put it to bed," he says.

Most of these firefighters are used to staging from remote locations. This camp is just a dozen miles from Hollywood.

But at the end of a long day hacking fire breaks and dousing hot spots, Paulson says the last thing on his mind is cruising Sunset Boulevard.

"It's like Groundhog Day," he says, referencing the movie in which Bill Murray is doomed to relive the same day over and over. "We get up and then we start prepping all of our stuff for getting ready to go. We go over and eat. We go out on the line all night, doing our thing. And we come back, and the next day we do it all over again."


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090905/ap_on_re_us/us_wildfires_base_camp

[samanthajane13]

Firefighters remembered as murder case picks up
By JACOB ADELMAN and THOMAS WATKINS, Associated Press Writers Jacob Adelman And Thomas Watkins, Associated Press Writers – 45 mins ago

LOS ANGELES – Investigators worked around-the-clock Friday at a charred hillside as they sought to build a murder case stemming from a huge wildfire that claimed the lives of two firefighters.

Authorities blocked access to the crime scene, a scorched area of scrub and trees off the side of the Angeles Crest Highway, as they analyzed clues including incendiary material reported to have been found there. Authorities say the fire was arson, but are still trying to find a culprit and understand how it was set.

"We are going to find out what we can and present it to the D.A.," said Los Angeles County sheriff's Lt. Liam Gallagher, who is heading the homicide probe and whose investigators worked through the night into Friday. "We are considering it a murder investigation."

Gallagher said as many as 14 investigators would be on hand to help with the probe over the weekend.

"We are in the early stages, just beginning to put things together," he said. "Firefighters losing their lives in the line of duty is an added incentive, but we work every case to the fullest."

Arson investigators have plenty of experience to draw upon as they try to figure out who ignited a fire that torched more than 230-square-miles of the Angeles National Forest on the edge of Los Angeles and burned more than 60 homes.

Most wildfires are caused by human activity, and government statistics show that people were faulted for 5,208 wildfires in Southern California in 2008, the highest number since at least 2001. Between 2006 and 2008, Southern California was the only region of the country to see a significant jump in the number of wildfires blamed on people.

Still, very few of the forest fires lead to criminal or civil cases. The U.S. Forest Service recorded nearly 400 arson wildfires since 2005, records show.

Firefighters paused in their battle against the fire Friday to pay their respects to two fallen comrades whose deaths have triggered the investigation.

Hundreds of weary firefighters who have slogged on the front lines for the past 11 days took off their caps and helmets and bowed their heads at a tribute for Capt. Tedmund Hall and Specialist Arnaldo Quinones, held before dawn at the command center in the foothills near the flames.

The men helped save about 60 members of an inmate fire crew Sunday as flames approached their camp by setting a backfire that allowed the group to get to safety, said Los Angeles County Fire Capt. Glenn Goulet. The pair died when their truck plunged 800 feet down a steep mountain road.

The blaze was 42 percent surrounded Friday, authorities said.

Investigators will pick through clues at the scene, try to establish a likely motive for the arsonist, then predict the characteristics and traits of the unknown offender as they look to make an arrest.

Timothy Huff, a former profiler with the FBI who has interviewed more than 100 convicted arsonists, said the typical profile of an arsonist is that of a white man aged between 15-25. The most common arson motivation is revenge, Huff said, with offenders seeking to harm individuals, groups, institutions or society in general.

Riverside County Deputy District Attorney Michael Hestrin, who has prosecuted wildfire arson cases, said it depends what kind of evidence investigators gather in the current fire to make a decision to file murder charges.

"An arsonist could be responsible for all the consequences that his act set in motion," Hestrin said. "He unleashes this disaster and men died in an effort to save people from ruin or injury. He could be liable for those deaths."

Firefighters have set up a makeshift memorial for the fallen firefighters at the base camp. An American flag and a trio of firefighters' tools were flanked by photos of the firefighters — smiling in uniform — and surrounded by wreaths. Nearby, firefighters had scribbled messages on sheets of paper tacked to a large wooden board.

"God bless you brother," one had written. "Never forgotten," wrote another.

Those who knew Hall, 47, and Quinones, 35, said they were both motorcycle enthusiasts who were devoted to their jobs. Quinones was eagerly awaiting the birth of his first child and had recently turned down a work assignment, Goulet said.

"He said 'Hey, my baby's coming. I want to be there.' So he stayed at camp," said Goulet, who added Quinones had a motto on the back of a tattoo that said, "First in, last out."

___

Associated Press writers Greg Risling, Thomas Watkins and Raquel Maria Dillon contributed to this report.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090905/ap_on_re_us/us_wildfires

[samanthajane13]

Fire funds pulled before massive blaze
By MICHAEL R. BLOOD, Associated Press Writer Michael R. Blood, Associated Press Writer – Sun Sep 20, 7:09 pm ET

LOS ANGELES – Months before a wildfire burned 280 square miles at the edge of Los Angeles, a little-known group was awarded a $178,000 grant to clear flammable brush and tree limbs to protect a mountain neighborhood in the Angeles National Forest.

The work proposed for 90 acres in Big Tujunga Canyon was never done, and the grant was rescinded two days before the massive blaze ignited Aug. 26. Sixty homes were burned in the rugged canyon, by far the greatest concentration of property damage in the huge wildfire.

The ferocity of the fire makes it difficult to say how many homes, if any, might have been spared if the work had been completed. But failure to do the job offers a glimpse into a quasi-public system that provides little transparency while distributing millions of taxpayer dollars for fire protection on private property.

The grant came through the California Fire Safe Council Inc., a nonprofit organization that funneled $13.5 million in 2009 to groups and municipalities for fire prevention and safety projects. Most of the money comes from the U.S. Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management and other federal agencies.

It's not clear when the council recognized a problem with the Big Tujunga project, but the grant languished for months. No money ever changed hands before it was pulled back.

"The very best use of fire protection money would have been to clear brush in Big Tujunga Canyon — that's where we lost the homes," said U.S. Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Calif., who questioned why a nonprofit group was needed to steer taxpayer dollars to local groups.

As a nonprofit, it is not subject to open government laws even though much of its funding comes from the government.

"When the federal government wants to build a road, you hire a private sector company to build a road, you don't establish a statewide nonprofit," Sherman said. "I don't know why you would need all these intermediary agencies. ... It ought to be transparent, and not just with regard to the canyon but their whole setup."

Layers of review for each grant include a committee with representatives from federal agencies that makes recommendations to the council. One of the factors considered is a group's history in fire safety projects and ability to complete the job.

In the case of Big Tujunga, the grant was awarded to a group headed by Ben Furia Means, a fitness trainer, massage therapist and recording engineer with no apparent background in fire safety work.

Means' group, the Big Tujunga Fire Safe Council, is one of dozens of local councils established around the state that pursue such grants.

Contacted by e-mail, Means did not respond to repeated requests to explain what went awry with the grant. His phone was out of service — his home was among those lost in the fire.

"It is very unfortunate that this much damage occurred," Means wrote.

In written statements, state council Executive Director Margaret Grayson provided few specifics about how the grant turned sour. She would not release a copy of the Big Tujunga application, saying it is not a public document.

"We felt that the Big Tujunga grant had merit and attempted to move forward with it," Grayson wrote. "We had no choice but to rescind this grant."

The group had a fiscal sponsor Grayson would not identify, which at some point withdrew for reasons she did not disclose. The grants can require a matching amount from the recipient, though percentages vary.

Once the sponsor pulled out, the state panel could not give the Big Tujunga council the money because it is not a nonprofit, a requirement to receive the grant. Additionally, there were "major issues" with access to some of the private property where brush was supposed to be cleared, Grayson said.

The state council provides extensive guidance on how to organize and run local fire-safety groups, but it's unclear if Means had members or held a meeting.

John Benriter, 66, a preservation contractor, who lost his home in the fire, said he declined Means' invitation to join the council in April because he was suspicious that the only people involved appeared to be Means and his wife.

Walter McCall, a member of the state panel, said the lack of local involvement was a concern.

"Community support that he promised didn't materialize," McCall said. "When this guy didn't come through, we didn't have any alternative."

Forest Service spokesman Jason Kirchner said the state council was formed as a one-stop-shop for groups seeking grants for brush clearing and wildfire planning in areas where fire on federal land could threaten homes.

Before the council votes, a separate review committee ranks projects on more than a dozen factors: Will it reduce dry brush that could feed a fire? Are costs reasonable? Is the plan clearly defined?

But most of the requirements are aimed at determining what the proposal will do, not evaluate the credentials of the person who will carry it out.

"We assume they are telling us the truth" on the applications, said Pat Kidder, the state council secretary, who said he didn't know enough of the details to discuss the Big Tujunga grant.

Means, who uses the professional name Ben Fury, most recently worked as a fitness and strength coach, according to his resume posted online. At other points, he was involved in audio recording, Web design, video and freelance journalism, according to the document.

Grayson did not respond to a question about how Means' background qualified him for the money.

Kirchner, the Forest Service spokesman, directed questions to the council and credited the statewide group for "the sheer amount of work they've accomplished on the ground" in recent years. That was echoed by Jan Bedrosian of the Bureau of Land Management, who called the state council a wonderful program.

It's hard to say if anything could have warded off a fire hot enough to fuse coins and melt aluminum.

Culver City Fire Department Capt. Brian Evans, who supervised 70 firefighters in the canyon that day, said engines and crews pulled back after rising temperatures and increasing wind whipped the blaze into a firestorm. Thick smoke ruled out bringing in aircraft to drop water or retardant, he said.

Retiree Dave Johnson, 62, whose canyon home was incinerated in the blaze, said trimming low-hanging branches on the many tall pines in the area "would have been a great benefit." At the same time, he could only guess if it would have slowed the wall of flame.

Grayson doubted the fire could be stopped.

"Even if the Big Tujunga grant had accomplished the clearance contemplated, it is unlikely to have limited the damage," she said.

___

On the Net:

http://www.firesafecouncil.org/about/index.cfm


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090920/ap_on_re_us/us_wildfires_grant_rescinded