Bosbranden in de VS: Fires in California again

LOS ANGELES - Door een grote bosbrand in het zuiden van de Amerikaanse staat Californië hebben vijfhonderd gezinnen hun woning moeten verlaten.

Het vuur wordt aangewakkerd door een sterke wind en ongebruikelijk hoge temperaturen, meldde de Californische brandweer, die met achthonderd mensen en 120 brandweerwagens de vlammen onder controle probeert te krijgen.

De inwonenden van twee dorpen ten zuidoosten van Los Angeles moesten hun huizen uit toen de vuurzee de randen van hun dorpen bereikte. Vermoedelijk is een aangestoken auto de oorzaak van de bosbrand. (Telegraaf)
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LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A fast moving brush fire sent flames leaping into backyards and forced more than 1,200 southern California residents out of their hillside homes on a sweltering Sunday of gusty winds after months of drought.

Firefighters said two outbuildings were destroyed and two homes were damaged and more than 2,000 acres were burned as the fire threatened the upscale Anaheim Hills neighborhood in Orange County, about 35 miles southeast of Los Angeles.

By late Sunday, the fire was 30 percent contained, said Capt. Steve Miller of the Orange County Fire Authority.

Southern California was under an extremely high-risk fire warning over the weekend as hot winds drove temperatures up to around 90 (32 C) degrees inland after one of driest winters on record.

Less than 2 1/2 inches of rain have fallen in Los Angeles in the rain year than started in July 2006 compared to a normal annual total of about 11 1/2 inches.

Peak fire season is June-October but fire officials warn southern Californians to be on alert constantly. "Southern California fire season is a year round event," said Julie Hutchinson of the California Department of Forestry.

Fire and police officials went door to door or used megaphones to order residents out as the flames crept within half a mile of the hillside community. Emergency shelters were set up in schools and community centers for families, pets and horses. Later in the day, some of the mandatory evacuations were downgraded to voluntary, an Anaheim city spokesman said. Continued...

Aanvullend, Volgens CNN:

ANAHEIM, California (AP) -- Fueled by strong winds and dry weather, a small brush fire quickly erupted Sunday, burning 2,036 acres of parched hillside and charring two houses while families in over 500 homes were evacuated.

The 3-square-mile blaze damaged two other structures and threatened hundreds of homes through the day, said Capt. Steve Miller of the Orange County Fire Authority. But by late Sunday, no homes were being threatened and most evacuees were able to return home.

The two homes were mostly damaged on their roofs from falling embers, said Miller. Details on damage to the structures was not immediately available.

"The good news is that we haven't lost any homes completely," said Miller.

The fire was 30 percent contained late Sunday, and firefighters hoped to have full containment by Monday night, said Miller.

Though slowing winds helped firefighters make headway, there were still a some hotspots that could flare up and threaten homes if strong winds returned, authorities said.

"Things are looking good," said Orange Fire Capt. Ian MacDonald. "We have a little breeze tonight, but nothing compared to earlier today."

The fire, stoked by hot dry winds and fueled by chaparral, spread south and west quickly in an unincorporated part of Orange County and threatened multimillion-dollar homes here and in Anaheim Hills, about 35 miles southeast of Los Angeles. Authorities said the blaze may have been started by a vehicle fire, and were investigating if the car was stolen and set on fire to destroy evidence.

Through the afternoon, winds blowing up to 35 mph had made firefighting difficult for the more than 800 firefighters on the scene. Daytime temperatures were in the 90s and humidity was at 5 percent. (Watch flames leap up toward house )

Richard Steffy said he saw the fire out his window when he awoke Sunday morning.

"Boom, billows of smoke," he said. "It looked so close."

Firefighters were aided by helicopters and planes dropping water and retardant on the flames, and police went door to door to warn residents to evacuate.

The area, like much of Southern California, is under a red flag alert, indicating a high fire danger. A prolonged drought has left the chaparral-covered hills highly combustible. (Watch official on when to evacuate )

Fleeing fires has become a part of life for many residents.

Susan Snell, who has lived in Anaheim Hills for 23 years, followed a well-worn routine Sunday: She put her cat in a carrier, packed tax and insurance papers and photographs and found a good vantage point.

"It's freaky what you end up taking with you," she said as she watched television at the Anaheim Hills Community Center for updates. (Watch residents talk about fleeing )

Meanwhile, another brush fire had started about 20 miles away in Corona in Riverside County, said Capt. Julie Hutchinson from the California Department of Forestry. It had consumed about 25 acres but didn't threaten any houses, said Hutchinson.

ANAHEIM, Calif. — A stolen Honda Civic that was set ablaze sparked a wildfire that threatened houses in the hills southeast of Los Angeles and forced hundreds to temporarily evacuate, officials said Monday.

Anaheim investigators were reviewing security videotape from early Sunday taken at a toll road in an attempt to identify whoever ditched the car, city spokesman John Nicoletti said.

The 3-square-mile blaze, which damaged one home and two outbuildings, was 80 percent contained Monday afternoon, up from just 30 percent early in the day, fire officials reported. Another home initially reported as damaged was not harmed, said Capt. Steve Miller of the Orange County Fire Authority.

Firefighters predicted the fire would be fully contained by Tuesday morning.

• Speakout!: Should taxpayers cover the cost of homes damaged by Calif. wildfires?

A red flag alert, indicating high fire danger, remained in effect in much of Southern California, where a prolonged drought has made the chaparral-covered hills highly combustible.

"With the current conditions we're seeing, if we do have fires, we're looking at real extreme fire behavior," Miller said.

A 1,044-acre blaze that began Sunday in rural Riverside County was declared controlled Monday evening.

The Anaheim wildfire was reported Sunday morning, and hot, dry wind quickly spread it through an unincorporated neighborhood where it threatened multimillion-dollar homes about 35 miles southeast of Los Angeles.

Residents of about 500 homes were evacuated but most were able to return Sunday night.

Temperatures hit record highs for March 11 in many spots, including 97 in nearby Fullerton. The city's previous record high for the day was 84 degrees in 1959. The wind gusted to 49 mph and humidity hovered around 5 percent.

Monday was a bit cooler, with highs in the 80s and 90s, and a 10-degree drop was expected Tuesday.

The last time it was this dry was more than 80 years ago, when 2.5 inches of rain were recorded through March 22, 1924. Only about 2.4 inches of rain have fallen on downtown Los Angeles since July 1. Normal annual rainfall in Los Angeles is 11.43 inches.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's weather models suggest that an emerging La Nina pattern of cold water in the tropical Pacific will keep the area dry.

LOS ANGELES — A brush fire erupted in a rugged area of the Hollywood Hills on Friday.

The fire started next to the Oakwood Toluca Hills, a corporate housing complex northwest of downtown, and spread up the north face of the hills. A column of smoke roiled into the sky behind the famous Hollywood sign that stands on the south face of the hills.

Some 150 firefighters and five helicopters battled the flames, said Fire Department spokesman Ron Myers.

There were no reports of structural damage and no formal evacuations, he said.

"I don't know the exact last date we've seen a fire in this particular area but the hills are prone to fires throughout the year," he said. "This is just a little bit earlier than what we normally see."

Southern California is parched after an extremely dry winter that left rainfall levels far below normal.

The Hollywood Hills bisect Los Angeles, forming the southern side of the San Fernando Valley.

The blaze started between the east side of Universal City and the western side of sprawling Griffith Park.



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Best dikke rookwolken zojuist op CNN..en ze kunnen d'r nie goed bij
straks vliegen die Hollywood lettertjes nog de hens in

LOS ANGELES Mar 30, 2007 (AP)— Firefighters were working to contain a fast-moving brush fire Friday that sent smoke seeping into the Warner Bros. studios and towering high in the sky behind the famous Hollywood sign.

The 24-acre blaze started near a corporate housing complex east of Universal City, south of the Warner Bros. studios complex in Burbank.

"The studio is fairly filled with smoke at the moment," said Scott Rowe, vice president of corporate communications for Warner Bros. Entertainment. "It's at our back door. I think a couple of our entrances have been closed at this point and we're operating normally but that could change any minute."

Some 150 firefighters with five helicopters battled the flames, which covered less than a square mile, Fire Department spokesman Ron Myers said. There were no reports of structural damage, he said.

The region had an extremely dry winter with little rainfall, leaving much of the area parched.

"I don't know the exact last date we've seen a fire in this particular area but the hills are prone to fires throughout the year," Myers said. "This is just a little bit earlier than what we normally see."

The Hollywood Hills bisect Los Angeles, forming the southern side of the San Fernando Valley.

[ Bericht 2% gewijzigd door Frutsel op 31-03-2007 01:47:41 ]

Teens admit setting fire in Hollywood Hills

LOS ANGELES — A wildfire that authorities say was ignited by two teenagers tore through the brush-covered hills surrounding the famous Hollywood sign Friday, putting a scare into the city but doing little damage other than coating the area in a thick blanket of smoke.

The fire was relatively small — only 150 acres — but it attracted attention as smoke roiled into the sky behind the sign. At the height of the blaze, dozens of people gathered at the foot of the hills to take pictures of the landmark surrounded by smoke.

"If it burns, we would be losing an icon," said Russ Mitchell, a Los Angeles resident.

The fire began shortly before 1 p.m. next to the Oakwood Toluca Hills, a corporate housing complex northwest of downtown, and spread rapidly up the hillside before being contained about three hours later.

Authorities said two boys, ages 16 and 17, from Illinois later walked into a police station and acknowledged causing the fire. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa told reporters the two, who were visiting Los Angeles with their parents, had been staying at the Oakwood complex.

Both boys were later booked for investigation of reckless setting of a fire, said Ron Myers, a fire department spokesman. They were released to their parents, and the case will be sent to county prosecutors Monday for possible charges, Myers said.



One building at the Oakwood housing complex, a popular place among aspiring child actors and other entertainment professionals, was evacuated at the request of firefighters.

Nathan Stevenson, a 20-year-old actor from Toronto in town for the TV pilot season, was in nearby Universal City when he got a call about the fire and rushed home.

"I wanted to make sure to get my clothes out of the apartment. I brought my entire wardrobe here. I've got a lot of money in this place," Stevenson said.

Some 200 firefighters and five helicopters battled the flames. There were no reports of structural damage.

Vlammen laaien op bij Hollywood-teken (Nieuws.NL)

Novum/AP) - Achter het Hollywood-teken in de heuvels van Los Angeles heeft vrijdag urenlang brand gewoed. Vanuit de stad leek het erop dat de witte letters in brand stonden.

Twee jongens van 16 en 17 hebben volgens burgemeester Antonio Villaraigosa toegegeven dat ze de brand hebben aangestoken. De jongens zijn voor vakantie in Los Angeles, met hun familie uit de Amerikaanse staat Illinois. Ze verbleven in een appartementencomplex, vlak bij de witte letters.

Na hun bekentenis zijn ze overdragen aan hun ouders. Maandag wordt bij huin boorgeleiding besloten of ze worden vervolgd. Villaraigosa zei dat de jongens oud genoeg zijn om te weten dat ze fout bezig waren.

Meer dan tweehonderd brandweermannen en vijf blushelikopters zijn ingezet om de metershoge vlammen te blussen. Omwonenden en het Hollywood-teken zijn niet in gevaar geweest. Nabijgelegen studio's van filmproducent Warner Brothers waren gevuld met rook.

LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- The flames of an urban brush fire lit up the nighttime sky as it roared through portions of Los Angeles' landmark Griffith Park.

The spreading flames prompted mandatory evacuations Tuesday in the Los Feliz neighborhood on the south side of the park, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.

A shelter was set up at nearby Marshall High School

The fire "laid down" overnight, and firefighters hoped to be able to extinguish it on Wednesday, Fire Chief Douglas Barry told reporters. No homes were in immediate danger from the flames.

Arson investigators were questioning a person of interest in connection with the blaze, Barry said. The man was being treated for burns.

Officials were probing whether the blaze started after a person discarded a cigarette at a golf course in the park, a law enforcement official familiar with the investigation told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

The fire broke out about 1:30 p.m. (4:30 p.m. ET). Barry said early Wednesday that the blaze had burned about 600 acres of the 4,200-acre park.

Barry said hot, dry conditions and the steep terrain of the park were hampering firefighters' efforts to control it. Swirling winds were also presenting a problem, he said.

"This fire has danced around like nothing I've ever seen," Los Angeles City Council Member Tom LaBonge told reporters, adding that the fire had destroyed a terraced garden known as Dante's View.

The fire was 20 percent contained at 10 p.m. (1 a.m. ET Wednesday).

"We will be working well into the night to make sure we get this fire controlled and get a containment line around it," Deputy Fire Chief Mario Ruda told reporters. An estimated 200 firefighters were battling the flames, and eight helicopters were used at the height of the blaze.

The park is in the Hollywood Hills, about 10 miles north of downtown Los Angeles. It includes golf courses, tennis courts, the city's zoo and botanical gardens and the copper-domed Griffith Park Observatory.

The bright orange glow of the fire provided a striking backdrop for the white facade of the observatory into the evening hours.

Visitors and nonessential workers were ordered to leave the zoo when the fire broke out, but none of the facility's animals were being evacuated, spokesman Jason Jacobs told CNN.

The picturesque park has been used as a location for numerous television shows and films, including 1955's "Rebel Without a Cause" and 1985's "Back to the Future."


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LOS ANGELES — A wildfire roared across brush-covered hills in the city's sprawling Griffith Park on Tuesday, triggering evacuations of homes and some of the city's most famous landmarks.

A wall of flames raced across ridges and jumped fire lines late in the evening as the fire drew closer to homes and the Griffith Observatory, one of the locations for the 1955 film "Rebel Without a Cause."

Hundreds of firefighters and five water-dropping helicopters rushed to the landmark park — a mix of wilderness, cultural venues, horse and hiking trails and recreational facilities set on more than 4,000 acres on the hills between Hollywood and the San Fernando Valley.

Late Tuesday, authorities called for a mandatory evacuation of homes that sit along the park's southern edge as the fire burned out of control. Helicopters flew dangerous water-dropping missions after dark and no homes were lost by late evening.

Police officers drove through the parkside Los Feliz district ordering people out. "You need to evacuate, you need to evacuate your houses immediately," one said. "The fire is coming toward the neighborhood."

Residents helped direct traffic through tight neighborhood streets.

"I was just able to get a few things," said Ed Stephan, 83, who helped his wife into their car as ashes fell from the sky. "We're not too worried but want to get out of here and observe the law."

More than 200 residents were expected at an evacuation center, said fire Capt. Antoine McNight.

The fire destroyed Dante's View, a trailside terraced garden on Mount Hollywood, said City Councilman Tom LaBonge. "This is a very sad night for Los Angeles," he said.

Rangers evacuated the park's Vermont Canyon area, which includes the Los Angeles Zoo, two golf facilities, a merry-go-round and school, said Jane Kolb, a city Department of Recreation and Parks spokeswoman.

Fire Capt. Rex Vilaubi said the evacuations were voluntary and the areas were not in imminent danger of being overrun.

Nearly 1,300 utility customers lost power in Los Feliz when flames downed power lines, said Department of Water and Power spokesman Joe Ramallo.

Authorities were investigating whether the fire broke out after a person discarded a cigarette at one of the park's golf courses, a law enforcement official familiar with the matter told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the investigation was ongoing.

The person tried to put out the fire but was badly burned and was taken to Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center, the official said.

The blaze erupted on the second day of a heat spell. The National Weather Service said downtown hit 97 degrees, 23 degrees above normal, tying the record for the date.

In 1933 the area was the site of one of nation's worst wildland firefighting tragedies, a blaze that killed 25 firefighters.

nieuwsdump?
Daar is FOK! voor toch? Ter informatie
Moet ik ook over elke aardbeving een mening gaan hebben?

quote:

Op woensdag 9 mei 2007 09:52 schreef Lariekoek het volgende:

[..]

Sorry, dacht dat het in NWS stond

Nee dus

Grote brand in stadspark Los Angeles (Telegraaf)

LOS ANGELES - In het grootste gemeentelijke park van de Verenigde Staten, het Griffith Park ten noordwesten van het centrum van Los Angeles, is dinsdag een felle brand uitgebroken. Het vuur greep door de hoge temperaturen en de sterke wind snel om zich heen. Ongeveer 100 hectare van het ruim 1600 hectare grote park is al in as gelegd, meldden Amerikaanse media.


Honderden brandweerlieden op de grond, die vanuit de lucht worden bijgestaan door blushelikopters, proberen met man en macht de brand te bestrijden. In het park, dat vol staat met Californische eikenbomen, staan onder meer de bekende Los Angeles Zoo, een observatorium en de overbekende Hollywood-letters. Boven de miljoenenstad Los Angeles hangen dikke rookwolken.

De politie ondervraagt op dit moment een jongen van 20 jaar die de brand mogelijk heeft aangestoken. In de heuvels rond Los Angeles woedde eind maart ook al een spectaculaire bosbrand. De vlammen naderden de wereldberoemde witte Hollywood-letters toen tot op 400 meter.

Bosbrand park Los Angeles onder controle (Trouw)

LOS ANGELES (ANP) - Een grote bosbrand die een deel van het enorme stadspark van de Amerikaanse miljoenenstad Los Angeles in de as heeft gelegd, is grotendeels onder controle. Als de wind blijft liggen kunnen waarschijnlijk in de komende uren de laatste kleine brandhaarden worden geblust.
Dat heeft de brandweer woensdagavond laten weten. Ongeveer driehonderd personen in Los Angeles moesten woensdag huis en haard verlaten wegens de brand in het grootste gemeentelijke park van de Verenigde Staten. Honderden brandweermannen, vanuit de lucht bijgestaan door blushelikopters, zijn ingezet om de vuurzee in het Griffith Park te bestrijden.

Media spraken over de ernstigste brand in 46 jaar in de wilde natuur van de stad. Het vuur greep door de hoge temperaturen en de sterke wind snel om zich heen. In de loop van de dag nam de wind in kracht af. Circa 330 hectaren van het bijna 1700 hectare grote park in de heuvels bij Hollywood zijn in de as gelegd.

Verdachte

In het park, dat vol staat met Californische eikenbomen, bevinden zich onder meer de Los Angeles Zoo, het Griffith-observatorium en de overbekende Hollywood-letters. De politie vermoedt dat een 20-jarige jongeman, die met brandwonden naar een ziekenhuis moest, de brand veroorzaakte toen hij met een sigaret in zijn hand in slaap viel in het park. Er is nog geen aanklacht tegen hem ingediend.

In de heuvels rond Los Angeles woedde eind maart ook al een spectaculaire bosbrand. De vlammen naderden de wereldberoemde witte Hollywood-letters toen tot op vierhonderd meter.

Flames over Paradise



AVALON, Calif. — A wildfire burned several homes on the edge of Santa Catalina Island's main city Thursday as residents and visitors fled the resort isle more than 20 miles off the Southern California coast.

Firefighters battled flames nipping at the city limits of Avalon, where hundreds of people lined up at its harbor to board ferries back to the mainland. Many covered their faces with towels and bandanas as ashes fell.

Fire Chief Steven Hoefs said a few homes burned, but he did not know how many. The fire scorched more than 4,000 acres, including a commercial building and several storage buildings.

"We're hanging in for now," Hoefs said, estimating that 400 residents evacuated the island.

An orange blaze loomed behind the quaint crescent harbor, the landmark 1929 Catalina Casino and homes, restaurants and tiny hotels that cling to slopes rising sharply above the waterfront. The scene belied the idyllic image of the island cultivated in its 1930s and '40s heyday as a playground for movie stars and in The Four Preps' 1950s hit "26 Miles."



In Avalon, authorities used a bullhorn to urge people to evacuate. Visitors were directed to the historic art deco Casino until it lost electricity, while residents were sent to another part of the harbor.

The island's school and hospital voluntarily evacuated earlier, said Dan Teckenoff, publisher of the Catalina Islander.

The Catalina Express ferry service added four night departures of 400-passenger vessels from Avalon. "We're going to continue to send ferries over there until we're not needed," spokeswoman Elaine Vaughn said.

The blaze erupted at about 12:30 p.m. five miles east of the island's airport. It was fanned by winds moving at 15 mph and gusts of up to 20 mph.

About 160 firefighters, aided by four water-dropping helicopters and three retardant-dropping air tankers, battled the flames through most of the day.

National Guard helicopters flew in more firefighters, and dozens of fire engines arrived at Catalina aboard giant military hovercraft from the Marine Corps' Camp Pendleton.

Catalina is a long, narrow island covering 76 square miles and is served by ferry boats from Los Angeles, Long Beach and other mainland harbors. Avalon has a population of 3,200 that swells to more than 10,000 on weekends and in summer, according to the Catalina Island Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Bureau.

Resident Steve Adams said he was watching from his deck as helicopters dropped water on flames burning down a ridge toward town.

"Half the town has already been evacuated," Adams said by telephone.

A family of eight said they had just enough time to pack some clothes and personal papers before fleeing to the beach to catch a ferry.

"I'm scared," said Angelica Romero, 30, holding her 7-month-old daughter. "But what's important is I have my children. The rest doesn't matter."

At the mainland port of Long Beach, island resident Kathy Troeger arrived on a ferry with her three children and a friend's daughter. Her husband, a captain in county fire's Baywatch division, stayed behind to help fight the fire.

"It was like a nightmare when we left," she said. "You couldn't breathe and ash was falling like snow."

Bosbranden teisteren VS (Nieuws.NL)

de Verenigde Staten woeden verschillende grote bosbranden. Op het eiland Santa Catalina voor de kust van Zuid-Californië brak donderdag brand uit. Verscheidene panden brandden uit en 1.619 hectare grond is verwoest. De inwoners van ongeveer 1.200 huizen vertrokken of werden geëvacueerd. De brand bedreigde de stad Avalon, waar honderden inwoners donderdagavond de boot naar het vaste land namen. De as regende naar beneden 'als sneeuw', zei een eilandbewoonster.

Aan de oostkust, in Georgia, heeft een bosbrand in vijf dagen meer dan veertigduizend hectare grond verwoest, zei de brandweer. In Georgia en Florida woeden al wekenlang bosbranden. Bijna 777 vierkante kilometer is verwoest. De as in de lucht heeft in Florida geleid tot de sluiting van verschillende snelwegen.

In het noorden van Minnesota wakkerde de wind een brand bij een natuurpark aan. De brand heeft sinds zaterdag meer dan 116.550 vierkante kilometer grond en 45 panden verwoest.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A 2,500-acre fire burning on the Kenai Peninsula about 30 miles north of Homer started when sparks from a grinder being used to sharpen a shovel fell into dry grass, Division of Forestry officials said Wednesday.

The Caribou Hills fire in a popular recreation area more than doubled in size throughout the day, and officials said it doesn't seem to be slowing down. Large amounts of smoke and ash were reported in Homer, but officials said the town is in no immediate danger.

A Homer Electric Association power transmission line was in the fire's path and is assumed to have been destroyed despite efforts to save it, said Kris Eriksen, a Division of Forestry spokeswoman. Retardant is being dropped on the area and utility officials will assess damage when the fire clears the area.

They said power to the line between Bradley and Soldotna had been cut off but customer service was not disrupted.

The blaze is most active along its southern edge, where it was pushing into wilderness and was no longer threatening nearby structures, Eriksen said.

"There are significantly more cabins to the north, and the fire hasn't spread that way yet," Eriksen said.

Fire crews evacuated two people by helicopter Tuesday night and saved several cabins but lost one to the fire. The lost structure was north of Deep Creek and belonged to Rob Coreson.

Eriksen said warm temperatures and low humidity in the area contributed to the fire's rapid progression since it started Tuesday evening.

"It's burning pretty good on both sides of Deep Creek Dome," she said. "The winds are picking up."

A resident Tuesday reported the human-caused fire burning about a mile southeast of her home when it was only about 100 acres.

It tripled in size in 90 minutes and within five hours the fire had reached between 800 to 1,000 acres, said Dale Anderegg, a helicopter attack foreman directing operations.

Crews have been dropping loads of retardant on the fire and using a helicopter to drop water from a nearby lake on it. Four bulldozers are also helping build fire lines.

State fire bosses called up crews from as far away as Anchorage and Fairbanks to fight the fire. (FOX)

Bosbranden in toeristenregio Alaska

In de Amerikaanse staat Alaska woedt op het toeristische schiereiland Kenai een grote bosbrand.

Spade slijpen
De vlammen hebben tot nu toe 28.000 hectare in de as gelegd. Tientallen vakantiehuisjes zijn verwoest. De brand begon vorige week, toen mensen in de buitenlucht een spade aan het bijslijpen waren. Daarbij kwamen vonken in droog gras terecht, en dat vatte meteen vlam.

Druk bevolkt
Zeker 250 brandweerlieden proberen het vuur onder controle te krijgen. Kenai is de drukstbevolkte regio van de Amerikaanse staat, die vooral uit ongerept natuurgebied bestaat.

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ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Fire crews battled blazes throughout southcentral Alaska and officials confirmed that dozens of residences, seasonal cabins and other buildings have been destroyed on the Kenai Peninsula.

The largest fire covering 50,000 acres, whose western flank is 10 miles southeast of the community of Clam Gulch, may have slowed during light showers, but not by much, fire information officer Mary Huels said.

"We're glad we got that little sprinkle this morning, but I'm afraid it's not going to last very long," Huels said Saturday from Ninilchik. Still, she said, ""even a little bit of rain helps."

The fire began Tuesday when sparks from a grinder being used to sharpen a shovel fell into dry grass. The area is about 180 miles by road southwest of Anchorage.

The blaze, dubbed the Caribou Hills fire, consumed 30 residences and 40 other buildings in the popular recreatonal area, according to the state Division of Forestry. It threatens another 600 residences and cabins, Huel said.

Meanwhile, more crews were arriving from the lower 48 states to bolster the 250 people involved in firefighting efforts.

An evacuation order is still in effect for the area. Officials do not know how many people have left their homes because many of the structures are only used seasonally.

Fire crews said private pilots should not fly over the fire because they are endangering firefighting helicopters, forestry officials said.

Cool, wet weather in the Mat-Su Valley north of Anchorage held fires there at bay, with acreages remaining about the same as Friday, said fire information officer Matt Weaver.

The Su River fire had covered about 9,000 acres near the Parks Highway about five miles east of Caswell and the Yentna River fire remained at about 60 acres.

The Su River blaze has destroyed one cabin. Weaver said no other buildings had been touched on Saturday.

MEYERS, California (AP) -- A wind-whipped forest fire in the popular resort area of Lake Tahoe destroyed 50 homes Sunday and threatened 500 others, a U.S. Forest Service official said. No injuries were reported.



Kit Bailey, the agency's fire chief for Lake Tahoe, said high winds hampered the battle against the fast-moving, 500-acre blaze about five miles south of the lake. The Angora Lakes Resort and hundreds of homes in Meyers were evacuated, authorities said.

"I can't stay on the phone. We just got a notice to evacuate," Gloria Hildinger of the Angora Lakes Resort said.

"The smoke is getting pretty thick. It's probably two miles away, and we're hoping it won't reach here."

Winds as high as 25 mph fanned the flames, and the National Weather Service called for gusts as high as 35 mph Sunday evening.

"They're definitely having problems with the winds up there," said Linda Curran of the Camino Interagency Dispatch Center.

"The fire has a rapid rate of spread because of the winds."

At least five air tankers and two helicopters were assisting more than 400 firefighters on the ground.

The fire, believed to be caused by human activity, was reported Sunday afternoon on Forest Service land. Its huge smoke plume could be seen for miles.

Meanwhile, in Alaska, crews worked to protect hundreds of homes tucked in the hills of the scenic Kenai Peninsula, where a fire has already destroyed dozens of homes and cabins.

It has burgeoned to 81 square miles since Tuesday, consuming 35 far-flung cabins in the Caribou Hills, state fire information officials said. Forty other structures, including sheds and outhouses, were also lost in the popular hunting and snowmobiling area about 80 miles south of Anchorage.

The fire threatens another 600 homes and cabins, Hall said. An evacuation order has been in effect since Friday, but fire officials said an unknown number of residents have refused to budge.

Bob Evenson, a fire volunteer, said the 16-by-16-foot winter cabin he built with his brothers nearly 30 years ago has probably been destroyed. He had removed everything but a cook stove and a wood stove because bears sometimes explore the unlocked plywood building when no one is around.

"We're over the point of worry, and there's nothing we can do about it right now," Evenson said. "The sad part about losing all the cabins is it's a good place to take the family."

220 huizen verwoest door brand in Lake Tahoe

In de Amerikaanse staat Californië is maandag de noodtoestand afgekondigd vanwege een bosbrand in het natuurgebied bij de populaire vakantiebestemming Lake Tahoe. Meer dan 460 brandweerlieden rukten uit om de brand te bedwingen.

Ongeveer duizend mensen moesten geëvacueerd worden en minstens 220 huizen werden al door brand verwoest. Ruim duizend hectare bosgebied is sinds het uitbreken van de brand op zondag in vlammen opgegaan. Met het uitroepen van de noodtoestand konden de landelijke hulpdiensten om assistentie worden gevraagd.

Vermoed wordt dat het vuur door toedoen van mensen is ontstaan. Door de droge winter in de Sierra Nevada is er verhoogd brandgevaar. Vliegtuigen en helikopters wierpen water en brandvertragers uit om de brand in te dammen. Maandagochtend was nog minder dan 10 procent van de brand bedwongen, zei Kevin House van de politie in El Dorado County.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif., June 26 (Reuters) - Fire crews expect to have a wildfire that consumed more than 2,700 acres (1,100 hectares) of forest near California's Lake Tahoe fully contained no later than July 1, a spokesman for the U.S. Forest Service said on Tuesday.

High winds that fanned the flames on Sunday had eased on Monday, allowing firefighters to begin containing the blaze after it swept through bone-dry timber and burned down 225 structures, 178 of them homes, local officials said.

By Monday evening about 1,900 firefighters backed by 145 engines had contained 40 percent of the blaze, and a drop in temperature overnight and rise in humidity are helping keep it in check.

"The fire barely budged last night," said Rex Norman, a Forest Service spokesman.

The estimated 1,000 residents evacuated at the height of the fire began returning to see if their homes had been saved, damaged or destroyed. Reflecting the blaze's haphazard path, smoldering foundations stood next to unscathed vacation homes.

Investigators believe the conflagration, named the Angora fire, was man-made, but they do not yet know if it was started accidentally or intentionally.

Ecologists who have studied the Lake Tahoe area have expected a major fire for years as more homes have been built deeper into forests prone to wildfires, especially after dry winters.

California firefighters are expecting a busy fire season across the state because there was little rainfall this past winter.









New Evacuations ordered
MEYERS, Calif. — Efforts to tame a raging wildfire that has destroyed some 200 homes near Lake Tahoe suffered a setback when a backfire set by firefighters to control the blaze jumped a fireline, forcing a new round of evacuations, authorities said.

Firefighters were working to protect a development outside South Lake Tahoe when the blaze expanded, prompting the evacuation of a 300-home subdivision. About 2,000 people evacuated, according to South Lake Tahoe Police Lt. Martin Hale.

"It's a fairly populated area," said U.S. Forest Service spokesman Tim Evans. "That certainly is not good news for our firefighting efforts here."

The fire started Sunday near the south end of Lake Tahoe. By Tuesday evening, it had consumed more than 3,000 acres — about 4.69 square miles — and was about 44 percent contained, fire officials said.

Officials said the blaze jumped the fireline because firefighters set a backfire as part of their efforts to keep the main blaze from reaching more houses. When the wind picked up, embers crossed the fireline. Previously, firefighters had been able to contain the small spot fires that erupted.

The blaze moved so quickly that two firefighters were forced to deploy the emergency shelters firefighters carry to protect themselves during burnovers as a last resort, said Chuck Dickson, a U.S. Forest Service spokesman. They managed to walk away uninjured, he said.

The danger to homes had diminished overnight as firefighters got a badly needed advantage on the inferno. But it was still burning throughout the day along rugged, uninhabited slopes and authorities had cautioned that strong winds forecast to arrive Wednesday could fan the flames.

Earlier in the day, other families whose homes were in the path of the wildfire returned to their property, finding some houses reduced to charred ruins and others largely unscathed, except for the odor of smoke and a blanket of ash.

Investigators determined that the fire began near Seneca Pond, an area popular with runners and teenagers in this resort area along the California-Nevada state line. They also said they were close to identifying its cause. An announcement on that was expected later Tuesday.

Authorities have said they believe the fire was caused by some kind of human activity, but U.S Forest Service officials said there was no indication it was intentionally set.

The forest here was so dry that a discarded cigarette butt or match could easily have ignited the fire, Forest Service spokeswoman Beth Brady said. The area was also dotted with the remnants of illegal campfires, she said.

Experts have said California and the rest of the West are entering what could be a long and dangerous fire season after one of the region's driest winters on record. They warn that years of logging, development and forest mismanagement have left the Tahoe area particularly vulnerable to catastrophic wildfires.

SALT LAKE CITY — Firefighters had to contend with triple-digit temperatures Friday in Utah, Southern California, Nevada, Oregon and Idaho as they battled wildfires that charred thousands of acres in rugged terrain.

Crews managed to keep a week-old blaze that killed three people and destroyed a dozen homes in northeastern Utah from growing much larger, despite gusty wind, officials said.

Twelve helicopters and more than 800 firefighters were working the fire 100 miles east of Salt Lake City. It was 55 percent contained Friday and had consumed just over 66 square miles in Uintah and Duchesne counties.

The hard work of the crews paid off as containment lines held as winds gusted up to 30 mph," the Rocky Mountain Incident Management Team said.

On the Utah-Arizona line, where temperatures exceeded 100 degrees, 50 firefighters and two air tankers fought a blaze southwest of St. George that was sparked by lightning Thursday and burned at least 4,000 acres, or six square miles.



"Erratic winds caused the fire to quickly grow in size and remain extremely active throughout the night," the U.S. Bureau of Land Management said. "Smoke from the Black Rock Gulch fire is visible from St. George and surrounding communities."

Meanwhile, Idaho officials say a central Idaho forest fire ignited last week by lightning is nearly contained.

So far, the Dry Creek Fire has burned about 57-hundred acres in a forest area about 23 miles southwest of Grangeville.

But officials say the blaze is now about 85 percent contained ... and some fire crews and equipment will be demobilized today and tomorrow.

Spokesman Ted Pettis says firefighters today will continue to patrol fire lines where burnout operations occurred and helicopter water bucket drops will be used as needed.

The fire that started last Friday burned to an area near the Salmon River and close to the Snake River. Some of the blaze occurred in steep, inaccessible terrain.

In Southern California, 1,500-acre wildfire burned Friday in the foothills of Santa Barbara County as nearly 1,000 firefighters struggled to halt its spread in dense, dry brush. It was 30 percent contained, county fire Capt. Eli Iskow said.

The fire broke out Wednesday about 15 miles north of Los Olivos and burned in chaparral and stands of oaks and moved into Los Padres National Forest.

The area had not burned in 40 years or more, forest spokeswoman Donna Poth said. "The moisture levels are at historic lows," she said.

Seven firefighters were treated for heat exhaustion or minor injuries since the blaze began. The cause was under investigation.

Another fire was contained at 400 acres in the high desert of San Bernardino County after burning through foothills in Lucerne Valley, said Bill Peters, spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

It was started by lightning from a dry thunderstorm on Thursday, Peters said.

The storm's high winds fanned the flames across a sparsely populated area near the backside of the San Bernardino Mountains but they later subsided, Peters said.

In southeast Oregon, a burning vehicle ignited a wildfire Thursday that grew to 10,000 acres. It was burning Friday five miles away from the Oregon State University's Northern Great Basin Experiment Station, federal officials said.

"The fire is burning in sagebrush, grass and juniper and spreading in multiple directions, mostly north and east," roughly 30 miles southwest of Riley, said Tara Martinak of the Bureau of Land Management's Burns District.

The fire threatened cattle, power lines and Camp Gap Ranch, one of the original camps established to support President Franklin Roosevelt's Civilian Conservation Corps. But the burned vehicle was the only reported damage.

In Nevada, lightning sparked more than a dozen brush fires on Friday. One blaze jumped a highway in Douglas County about 60 miles south of Reno and forced the evacuations of homes. The blaze had burned about 650 acres — about 1 square mile — but no homes had burned and no injuries were reported.

At least a half-dozen smaller fires were burning north of Reno, where some residents in the Red Rocks area voluntarily evacuated before rain started to fall and firefighters began to make progress.

A 3,000 acre fire — about 4.69 square miles — that burned toward Interstate 80 in Elko County about 280 miles east of Reno burned two structures and several outbuildings, but no injuries were reported, fire officials said. The highway remained open, but could be closed depending on visibility, authorities said.

Doden door hittegolf in westen VS

LAS VEGAS (ANP) - Een verzengende hittegolf in grote delen van de westelijke Verenigde Staten heeft eerste levens geëist. Volgens Amerikaanse media vrijdag kwam een 1-jarige jongen om het leven in Idaho nadat zijn moeder hem met 38 graden Celsius buitentemperatuur in de auto had laten zitten.
In Californië stierf een dakloze vrouw doordat het struikgewas waaronder ze was gaan liggen, vlam vatte door de hitte. In het toeristische Death Valley in Californië liep het kwik op tot boven de 50 graden en in Las Vegas liep de temperatuur op tot boven de 45 graden. Volgens Amerikaanse nieuwszenders zijn op tal van plaatsen in de getroffen regio's ,,koelingscentra'' geopend waar burgers kunnen uitblazen in aangename temperaturen. Vorig jaar vielen er zeker 130 doden door een hittegolf in Californië.

West Under Highest Wildfire Alert - HELP!

BOISE, Idaho — International wildfire crews could be called to help fight blazes in the bone-dry West as U.S. officials on Wednesday boosted the nation's wildfire alert to its highest level. (FOX NEWS)

"It's driven by a couple of things: The number of large fires we have, and also the fires are occurring in several states and in several geographic areas," Randy Eardley, a spokesman for the National Interagency Fire Center here, told The Associated Press. "The resources we have are being stretched thin."

The wildfire preparedness level was raised to five as dry lightning blasted and sparked dozens of new blazes in Idaho, Nevada, Oregon and Utah, where firefighters have been stretched thin by nearly 70 fires bigger than 100 acres burning in 12 states. National Guard units also could be mobilized under new level.

Since Monday, there have been more than 1,000 new fires reported across the West, Eardley said.

He said dry, windy conditions, thunderstorms and temperatures reaching above 100 degrees were forecast to continue across most of the Rocky Mountain West through next week.

A new wildfire that started Wednesday evening at the Idaho National Laboratory swept across about 1 1/2 square miles — or 1,000 acres — of sagebrush and grassland at the federal nuclear research area in southeast Idaho. Its cause was not immediately known, laboratory spokesman John Epperson said.

Crews set a backfire to keep the blaze from jumping a nearby highway. The nearest laboratory facility is the Materials and Fuels Complex, about five miles northeast of the edge of the fire and on the other side of the highway.

Ethan Huffman, another laboratory spokesman, said the wildfire posed no danger to the complex, which is used for research into nuclear fuel development and is surrounded by sand buffers.

In Nevada, crews Wednesday battled more than two dozen fires burning across nearly 200 square miles of rangeland and timber in the northern part of the state. One threatened hundreds of homes on the edge of Reno.

The largest wildfire in Oregon, near Burns in the southeast portion of the state, had grown to more than 200 square miles and was threatening a handful of homes, officials said.

And in Utah, two new large fires were reported, in addition to three already burning on about 640 square miles of grass, sage and timber. It was so dry there that some Utah communities banned traditional July 24 fireworks that members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints normally shoot off to celebrate the 1847 arrival of Mormon pioneers in the Salt Lake valley.

In Southern California, authorities were trying to stop a 43-square-mile wildfire from spreading toward about 50 scattered homes in Los Padres National Forest in the interior of Santa Barbara County. In Northern California, overnight drizzle helped firefighters battling flames that threatened more than 300 homes in and around Happy Camp in the Klamath National Forest near the Oregon border.

"We didn't get enough rain to stop the fire, but we got enough to slow it from spreading," U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman Jodi Marron said.

A firefighting pilot was rescued after his small air tanker crashed in northern Nevada while he battled one of the dozens of wildfires tormenting the West, officials said Wednesday.

The AT-802A single-engine tanker was fighting a blaze south of Winnemucca when it went down Tuesday evening, said Jamie Thompson, spokesman for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. The rescued pilot was pulled from the wreckage by firefighters, treated at a hospital and later released, he said.

"Other than being pretty well soaked with slurry and aviation fuel, he was OK," Thompson said. "They cleaned him up and sent him home."

Officials said the plane was under contract from Minuteman Aerial Applications out of Montana. An investigation team was expected to determine the cause of the crash, Thompson said.















======
Die laatste foto met die bliksem

Heatwave in the Western United States

The oppressive heat that crept over parts of the western United States during the first few days of July 2007 took hold of the entire West during the week of July 4 through July 11. Deep red tones blanket every western state in this land surface temperature image, an indication that temperatures were warmer than in previous years. The image was made with data collected by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite and shows temperatures recorded between July 4 and July 11, 2007, compared to the average of temperatures observed during the same period in 2000, 2001, and 2002. Areas that are warmer than during that three-year period are red, while cooler areas are blue.

Triple-digit temperatures broke or matched records from Las Vegas, Nevada, to Great Falls, Montana, during this period. In this image, a cluster of red-black over eastern Washington, northern Idaho, and eastern Montana indicates that these regions experienced much warmer temperatures than in previous years. Western South Dakota (the Black Hills region) was also exceptionally warm. On the other end of the scale, Texas was much cooler than it had been in 2000, 2001, and 2002. Heavy rains pounded Texas on and off throughout this period, contributing to wide-spread flooding.

Fires in Idaho, eastern Oregon

Strong winds fanned wildfires across the western United States on July 19, 2007. The hot, dry, windy conditions led the National Interagency Fire Center to move to a National Preparedness Level of 5 on a five-point scale, indicating that the fires were numerous, large, and widespread enough to potentially exhaust fire-fighting resources. More than a million acres were burning across the United States in 72 large wildfires on July 19, 2007, said the National Interagency Fire Center.

Among the largest fires were the Rowland and Elk Mountain fires burning in southwestern Idaho. The active fronts of these fires are outlined in red in this pair of photo-like images acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on July 19, 2007. The top image was taken at 12:25 pm, Mountain Daylight Time, when MODIS flew over on NASA’s Terra satellite. The active parts of the Elk Mountain fire surround a dark brown oval of charred land. The fast-moving flames had consumed much of this area in the previous 24 hours. A MODIS image taken on the afternoon of July 18, reveals that the fire had been relatively small the previous day, and little land around the fire was charred. The Rowland fire, by contrast, was smaller on July 19 than it had been on July 18.

At 2:05 pm on July 19, less than two hours after the top image was taken, MODIS aboard NASA’s Aqua satellite captured the lower image. In that two-hour period, winds and fire activity picked up substantially. By this time, the fires were racing through grass and sagebrush and pumping out dense plumes of smoke. The smoke obscures the burned land and the surrounding desert landscape. Strong winds were pulling the smoke north in long plumes that stretch over the green and gold Snake River Plain. The National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) reported that both the Rowland and Elk Mountain fires exhibited extreme fire behavior, with fast-moving or unpredictable flames, and threatened structures and power lines. On July 20, the Rowland fire had burned 95,000 acres and was 15 percent contained, while the Elk Mountain fire had burned 160,000 acres (up from 25,000 acres the day before) and was 10 percent contained, said NIFC.

The large images provided above are at MODIS’ maximum resolution (level of detail) of 250 meters per pixel and stretch south to include much of Nevada and Utah. Both the 12:25 and 2:05 images are available in a variety of resolutions from the MODIS Rapid Response System.

quote:

Op dinsdag 24 juli 2007 00:49 schreef Petre het volgende:
Duizenden geëvacueerd in VS door brand

ik zag um staan
Geweldig, thx

MALIBU, Calif. — Nearly a dozen wildfires driven by powerful Santa Ana winds spread across Southern California, killing one person near San Diego, destroying several homes and a church in celebrity-laden Malibu, and forcing an entire community to evacuate.

The Malibu fire was among at least 10 blazes that burned more than 35,000 acres, stretching from north of Santa Barbara to San Diego, as hot weather and hurricane-strength winds marked the height of the traditional wildfire season. Late Sunday, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency in seven Southern California counties.

Four firefighters and at least 10 other people were injured and taken to hospitals in connection with the fire near San Diego, said Matt Streck, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry. Details on the death were not immediately available.

The blaze burned more than 14,000 acres — or about 22 square miles — near a highway about 70 miles southeast of San Diego, just north of the Mexican border town of Tecate, Streck said. Some of the injured were hikers, and others may be illegal immigrants, Streck said.

A second blaze charred more than 5,000 acres in northern San Diego County near an area that was ravaged by a pair of wildfires in 2003 and forced the evacuation of the city of Ramona, which has a population of about 15,000.

Several structures were burned on the edge of town and sheriff's deputies called residents to alert them the fire was approaching the city, said San Diego sheriff's Lt. Phil Brust.

"I can't ever remember doing this," Brust said of notifying the town to evacuate. "This fire is crazy."

In northeastern Los Angeles County, a fire that started near Agua Dulce burned about 10,000 acres, or nearly 16 square miles, in just a few hours as about 250 firefighters tried to get a handle on it.

At least 10 structures burned, but probably "many" more than that, said county Fire Inspector Sam Padilla. Between 500 and 800 people fled the area, and three people were injured.



"It's dark out there and the fire's moving fast so they can't count at this point," Padilla said.

Meanwhile, in Malibu, about 700 firefighters worked to protect about 200 homes in several upscale communities nestled in the hills, officials said. About 1,500 people fled the fires, officials said.

The blaze, which started in Malibu Canyon, had charred at least 1,200 acres and destroyed a church and several homes, one of them a landmark castle. No residents or firefighters were injured, Los Angeles County Fire Chief P. Michael Freeman said.

The winds carried embers across the Pacific Coast Highway, closing the popular road and setting fire to cars and trees in the parking lot of a shopping center where a supermarket, drug store and other shops were damaged. It briefly threatened Pepperdine University.

TV footage showed several buildings in flames in the area, including clusters of beach-side homes.

"This fire is zero percent contained, which means we're at the mercy of the wind," acting Malibu Mayor Pamela Conley Ulich said.

Bosbranden in Zuid-Californië; evacuaties Malibu

(Novum/AP) - In het zuiden van de Amerikaanse staat Californië woedt een tiental bosbranden. Het vuur wordt aangewakkerd door de harde wind. In het gebied tussen Santa Barbara en San Diego is al veertienhonderd hectare in de as gelegd. In de buurt van San Diego is een dode gevallen. Veertien mensen, onder wie vier brandweerlieden, zijn in datzelfde gebied gewond geraakt.

In Malibu, waar veel beroemdheden wonen, worden honderden huizen bedreigd. De bewoners moesten worden geëvacueerd. Verscheidene huizen en een kerk in Malibu zijn al aan de vlammen ten prooi gevallen. Voor de bestrijding van de branden in Malibu alleen al zijn zevenhonderd brandweermannen ingezet.

Wat een kop op FoxNews SAN DIEGO - EVACUATE NOW!!!!

quote:

Op maandag 22 oktober 2007 19:26 schreef ssebass het volgende:
Ik woon in San Diego Pacific Beach en vandaag werd ik gebeld dat niemand naar buiten mag. Iedereen wordt geadviseerd binnen te blijven met de airco aan. Gister rook ik de brand ook redelijk sterk en er vliegt hier wat as rond, maar verder merk ik er niet zoveel van. Ik ga gewoon van mijn vrije dag genieten en een beetje op het strand hangen, misschien nog even surfen. Santa Ana zal ook niet veel goeds doen voor de branden. Volgens mij is de interstate 5 ook afgesloten. Dus ik zit redelijk opgesloten nu.

is dat niet eng? hele tijd nieuws volgen? buiten kijken?
foto's maken?

heel san diego??

cnn is er vol mee
-1 dode, 17 gewonden...
-honderden mensen zonder telefoon zitten vast, kunnen geen kant op
-90% van de branden nog niet onder controle
-weerbericht: heet en wind, geen regen

heel san diego??

cnn is er vol mee
-1 dode, 17 gewonden...
-honderden mensen zonder telefoon zitten vast, kunnen geen kant op
-90% van de branden nog niet onder controle
-weerbericht: heet en wind, geen regen

hoop het niet voor jullie

hou ons op de hoogte razende reporters

Deadly Wildfires Force Mass Evacuations in Southern California



SAN DIEGO — Wildfires blown by fierce desert winds Monday reduced scores of Southern California homes to ashes, forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee and laid a hellish, spidery pattern of luminous orange over the drought-stricken region.

One person was reported killed; at least 16 firefighters and 25 others were reported injured since the blazes began Sunday. At least 655 homes burned — about 130 in one mountain area alone — and 168 businesses and other structures were destroyed. Thousands of other buildings were threatened by more than a dozen blazes covering at least 240,000 acres, the equivalent of 374 square miles.



"The sky was just red. Everywhere I looked was red, glowing. Law enforcement came barreling in with police cars with loudspeakers telling everyone to get out now," said Ronnie Leigh, 55, who fled her home at a mobile home park as smoke darkened the sky over the nearby ridge line.

Firefighters — who lost valuable time trying to persuade stubborn homeowners to leave — were almost completely overwhelmed as gale-force winds gusting to 70 mph scattered embers on the dry brush. California officials pleaded for help from fire departments in other states.

A pair of wildfires consumed 128 homes in the Lake Arrowhead mountain resort area in the San Bernardino National Forest east of Los Angeles, authorities said.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,303881,00.html

Leger nodig bij branden Californië

LOS ANGELES - Gouverneur Arnold Schwarzenegger van de Amerikaanse staat Californië heeft maandag 1500 man van de Nationale Garde opgeroepen om de brandweer te helpen bij de bestrijding van talrijke natuurbranden. Al meer dan vijfhonderd huizen zijn verwoest.

Ook heeft de gouverneur het leger om blusvliegtuigen gevraagd. Dat maakte het kantoor van de gouverneur bekend. In de staat aan de westkust woeden zeker dertien grote branden.

Ongeveer driehonderd huizen gingen in Rancho Bernardo in het district San Diego in vlammen op, aldus brandweerlieden. In het nabijgelegen Fallbrook werden nog eens honderd woningen verwoest. En in Lake Arrowhead vielen 128 huizen ten prooi aan het vuur.

Meer dan een kwart miljoen mensen zijn op de vlucht geslagen. Bijna 5000 brandweerlieden bestrijden het vuur.

Vooral de regio rond de stad San Diego is zwaar getroffen. Hier zijn 250.000 mensen geëvacueerd. Er viel in dit gebied een dode en twintig mensen raakten gewond. Ziekenhuizen, bejaardenhuizen en gevangenissen zijn ontruimd. Volgens Lisa Blake van de brandweer van San Diego mist de brandweer de middelen om alle huizen te redden.

In totaal bestrijden 4900 brandweerlieden met 314 brandweerwagens het vuur. Verder gaan ze het vuur met negentien vliegtuigen, vijftien bulldozers en acht helikopters te lijf. De brandweer kan volgens Zev Jaroslavsky van de gemeente Los Angeles het werk nauwelijks aan. Buurstaten hebben extra brandweerlieden naar Californië gestuurd.

Een harde wind wakkert het vuur aan. Meteorologen verwachten niet dat de wind voor woensdag gaat liggen. „We hebben weersomstandigheden die perfect zijn voor enorme branden”, aldus gouverneur Schwarzenegger. Het land is bovendien bijzonder droog. In Californië is dit jaar slechts eenvijfde van de normale neerslag gevallen.

De gouverneur spreekt van een „tragedie” en heeft in zeven districten de noodtoestand uitgeroepen. President George Bush heeft Californië inmiddels federale hulp aangeboden. Zeker 80.000 hectare land is verwoest, tientallen huizen vielen ten prooi aan de branden. Alleen al in Fallbrook bij San Diego gingen honderd huizen in vlammen op.

In het welvarende Malibu worden veel huizen van filmsterren bedreigd. Onder de geëvacueerden zijn de acteurs Dick Van Dyke, Mel Gibson en actrice Olivia Newton John. Het nagebouwde kasteel Castle Kashan met een vloeroppervlak van 930 vierkante meter en dat te koop stond voor 17 miljoen dollar, werd in de as gelegd. Ook de presbyteriaanse kerk moest er aan geloven.

(Telegraaf 23-10 http://www.telegraaf.nl/b(...)en_Californi%EB.html )

Bijna miljoen Californiërs op de vlucht

SAN DIEGO - In het zuiden van de Amerikaanse staat Californië hebben 900.000 mensen opdracht gekregen hun huizen te verlaten in verband met de al drie dagen durende natuurbranden.

Dat meldde CNN woensdag. Het zwaarst getroffen is de regio rond de stad San Diego. Hier zijn meer dan een half miljoen mensen geëvacueerd.

In de staat aan de westkust woeden zestien grote branden. Al 161.000 hectare is in vlammen opgegaan. Meer dan 1600 huizen en bedrijven zijn ten prooi gevallen aan het vuur. Ook in deze cijfers loopt San Diego voorop: hier verwoestten vlammen alleen al 1300 panden. De politie hier meldde verscheidene plunderaars te hebben opgepak

Opnames CSI en 24 in problemen door branden

LOS ANGELES - Door de hevige natuurbranden in het zuiden van de Amerikaanse staat Californië zijn opnames van verscheiden televisieseries in de problemen gekomen.

Dat meldde Access Hollywood dinsdag. Opnames voor onder meer de politieseries CSI en 24 moesten worden geschrapt, aldus de website van de televisiezender.

Ook even de FP geupdate -> BREAKING: Grote bosbranden in Californie