California Firefighters Catch a Break
Santa Ana winds weaken; crews make progress containing widespread wildfires
News photographer Darren Phan, of KTLA in Los Angeles, looks over a wall to see the devastation of Oakridge Mobile Home Park after a wildfire swept through in Sylmar, California, Monday, November 17, 2008. (Photo: ©Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP Images)
Firefighters battling wildfires in Southern California got some much needed assistance from Mother Nature on Monday. The Santa Ana winds that have fueled blazes since Thursday are finally dying down.
The dry, hot winds are now blowing at 5 miles per hour (mph) with gusts of up to 20 mph, according to the National Weather Service. The winds gusted to more than 70 mph over the weekend, acting as an engine for the unpredictable blazes.
Fires have burned nearly 64 square miles of the Golden State. More than 800 houses, mobile homes, and apartments in Los Angeles (LA), Orange, Santa Barbara, and Riverside counties have been destroyed. Over the weekend, more than 26,000 area residents were under mandatory evacuation orders.
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has declared states of emergency in LA, Orange, and Santa Barbara counties.
Firefighters took to the air to battle blazes marching toward the city of Los Angeles from the south, in Orange and Riverside counties. As of Sunday evening, they had contained about 20 percent of that fire.
While the city of Los Angeles is not burning, residents have still been affected. The sky is clouded with smoke, and most people are staying indoors because of the bad air quality. Many Orange County schools near the fire zones were closed on Monday.
The Sayre area—northeast of the city of LA—has been blanketed by 10,000 acres of flames. That fire front has been half contained, and is further outside of the city than the fires burning to the south.
The community of Sylmar, near Sayre, has been particularly hard hit. Fires completely destroyed the Oakridge Mobile Home Park on Saturday. On Monday, residents of the 484 homes will be allowed to return to their property to see what is left.
"We will be back," Oakridge resident Jenny Harmon told USA Today. "I lost everything, even my automobile. (But) we are going to rebuild."
Containment efforts in Santa Barbara County have been more successful, as crews have contained blazes in that county up to 90 percent.
Officials don't know the causes of all of the fires, but investigations are under way. Captain Eli Iskow of the Santa Barbara County Fire Department spoke to the LA Times about the fire that began there. "We're calling it a human cause," Iskow said. "Whether it's intentional or unintentional has yet to be determined."
On Sunday, Governor Schwarzenegger expressed his thanks to the crews battling the fires. "We have the most courageous, toughest firefighters," Schwarzenegger said. "These are the true action heroes of our state and our country."
TELL US WHAT YOU THINK
Read today’s story and answer the following question.
 | President-elect Barack Obama is urging people who live in and around Southern California to volunteer to help the long-term wildfire recovery efforts. What are your ideas for ways to help those who have been affected by the fires, after the danger has passed? Check out the California Volunteers Web site for ideas. Tell us on the Scholastic News Online Blog! | |
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