AT `WAR' WITH FIRE THOUSANDS FLEE AS CREWS SAVE LIVES AND HOMES.Byline: Josh Kleinbaum, Susan Abram and Angie Valencia-Martinez Staff Writers THOUSAND OAKS Thousand Oaks, residential city (1990 pop. 104,352), Ventura co., S Calif., in a farm area; inc. 1964. Avocados, citrus, vegetables, strawberries, and nursery products are grown. - A treacherous wildfire defied the efforts of firefighters for a second day as it rampaged Thursday through hills and canyons along the Los Angeles-Ventura county border, charring 16,200 acres and forcing thousands of people from their homes. Amazingly, there were no serious injuries and up to 2,000 homes were reported saved as 3,000 firefighters from across California waged a ground and aerial assault Aerial Assault is a horizontal scrolling shooter video game where the Player takes the role of a Freedom Fighter who must destroy five targets, including the Vinsk (a aerial battleship that is clearly influenced by the Space Battleship Yamato), CB-53 Bomber, "El", and two on the relentless firestorm fueled by heavy brush and Santa Ana winds Santa Ana Winds may refer to: 1. Santa Ana wind, a local Southern California reference to Föhn winds, a meteorological phenomenon occurring as a layer of wind is forced over a mountain range -- drying the air -- which then passes over the crest and begins to move downslope -- . The property damage tally was light, with fire officials reporting one house and several outbuildings destroyed. Still, firefighters had managed to control just 5 percent of the blaze since it started Wednesday afternoon, largely due to unpredictable, gusting winds and mountainous terrain. ``We didn't come to work this morning; we came to war,'' Los Angeles Fire Department The Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD), also known as the Los Angeles City Fire Department to distinguish it from the Los Angeles County Fire Department. It is the agency that provides fire protection and emergency medical services for the city of Los Angeles. spokesman Brian Humphrey said. The fire spread overnight from Box and Bell canyons into Simi Valley Simi Valley (sē`mē, sĭm`ē), city (1990 pop. 100,217), Ventura co., SW Calif. in an oil, fruit, and farm region; laid out 1887, inc. 1969. and to the outskirts of Thousand Oaks. By Thursday afternoon it burned back toward the Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. County line, threatening communities that thought they'd been spared and extending as far east as West Hills. Residents were ordered to evacuate in Box Canyon, Woolsey Canyon, Bell Canyon, parts of Lake Manor, parts of Calabasas, Mont Calabasas, Oak Park and parts of Mountain View. Firefighters focused on corralling several large fire fronts in unpopulated areas to prevent them from jumping to the south side of the Ventura Freeway The Ventura Freeway is a freeway in southern California running from Ventura to Pasadena. It is the principal east-west route through Ventura County and in the southern San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County. for fear they could quickly spread all the way to Malibu. ``Santa Ana winds, it just makes my hair stand up on the back of my head,'' said Michael Bryant There have been several well-known people named Michael Bryant, including:
``For people who have their houses in danger, this is a worst-case scenario worst-case scenario n → Schlimmstfallszenario nt .'' The fast-moving blaze spread a thick blanket of smoke across the region and over the ocean, snowing ash on communities miles from the flames. The fire began at 1:45 p.m. Wednesday with a three-acre brush fire just north of the Ronald Reagan Freeway near Topanga Canyon Boulevard. Fanned by the Santa Anas, it spread southwest toward Thousand Oaks. By Thursday morning, it had consumed more than 10,000 acres. By midday, 3,000 firefighters were battling the blaze. Fire crews hoped today's weather might bring some relief. ``The outlook should be getting better because of the weather change,'' said L.A. County Fire Dept The Fire Dept (1987–2004) was a British punk rock group. The main core of the band over the years comprised Neil Palmer on guitar and vocals, Neale Richardson on bass and Robin Taylor on drums. . Capt. Kurt Schaefer  This biographical article or section is written like a resume.Please help [ improve this article] by revising it to be and encyclopedic. () Kurt Schaefer (Ph.D. , forecasting lower temperatures and calmer winds than on Wednesday and Thursday. By late Thursday, flames had consumed only one home, a detached garage, three outbuildings and a storage facility at Rocketdyne's Santa Susana Santa Susana can refer to several places:
``You can't believe it,'' said Oak Park resident Roger Newton, who watched as a fire department helicopter performed a water drop on his backyard. ``You don't think it's real. It's certainly beginning to look real.'' While engine companies protected threatened homes, firefighters used bulldozers and water drops in the uninhabited canyons to slow the spread of the blaze, giving officials time to perform evacuations. Some residents refused to leave. ``I want to look over my house,'' said Marilyn Blistein, an Oak Park resident. ``Nobody will protect it like I will. When it gets really close, I'm out of here.'' In Old Agoura, one family packed up six cars with clothes and photos, a rooster rooster its crowing at dawn heralds each new day. [Western Folklore: Leach, 329] See : Dawn rooster symbol of maleness. [Folklore: Binder, 85] See : Virility and two chickens, but did not leave when the evacuation order came. ``We're ready to leave, but we're hoping we don't have to,'' said Jackie Ramuno. ``We've been really careful watching the skies and listening to the helicopters.'' At the Oak Park Mall Oak Park Mall is a shopping mall located in Overland Park, Kansas on 11519 West 95th street. Oak Park Mall is open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sundays [1]. The mall contains 190 stores and the mall area is 1,500,000 sq. , shops were shuttered and parking spaces remained empty. ``Many of the students' parents evacuated at 4 a.m. so they called to cancel,'' said Maraleen Gradle, director of instruction at the Bridell Institute, a learning center. Sharon Rashti shut down her beauty supply business by midday. She said the Topanga Fire seemed more threatening than previous area blazes. ``As fearful as the other one was, we could at least see the whole fire, not like this one,'' she said. ``You could see this one coming over the hill there, but you don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. where it is.'' Fatigued firefighters rested wherever they could, some sleeping atop unused hose lines. When the flames returned to Bell and Box canyons, sheriff's deputies allowed residents to return home for 15 minutes to collect valuables. Sisters Cathy and Caryn Cornell scribbled a list of valuables they planned to collect once they entered their home, including photographs, videos and important documents. A voluntary evacuation was called in a neighborhood of West Hills, north of Roscoe Boulevard between Valley Circle Boulevard and Shoup Avenue, after burning embers ignited spot fires in the backyards of several homes. ``I was in disbelief,'' said Rodger Chartrand Jr., 43, a software salesman whose Jason Avenue home abuts Chatsworth Reservoir. ``I didn't think it could come this far. I felt like I was going to start bawling.'' Chartrand said he used three garden hoses to fight the blaze until fire crews arrived. ``They yelled 'Charge' and opened up the hoses,'' he said. ``It literally blew the flames out.'' To help fund the cost of fighting the stubborn fire - estimated at $1 million by Thursday morning - Los Angeles County officials declared a local disaster, paving the way for state and federal aid. County officials said they would ask the governor and state Office of Emergency Services emergency services Emergency care '…services …necessary to prevent death or serious impairment of health and, because of the danger to life or health, require the use of the most accessible hospital available and equipped to furnish those services' for a state emergency declaration. That would help loosen state regulations such as purchasing and bidding requirements and allow state reimbursement for a share of local costs, officials said. Meanwhile, the state was providing equipment and had obtained a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is the federal agency responsible for coordinating emergency planning, preparedness, risk reduction, response, and recovery. The agency works closely with state and local governments by funding emergency programs and providing technical to help cover the costs for things such as assembling field camps and mobilizing and demobilizing personnel and equipment. OES also helped coordinate bringing in 16 strike teams, with five fire engines each, from outside Southern California. The U.S. Forest Service provided at least 22 aircraft to the Topanga Fire effort, including 11 air tanker planes that can each drop from 500 gallons to 3,000 gallons of water or retardant re·tar·dant adj. Acting or tending to retard. Often used in combination: flame-retardant pajamas for children; a fire-retardant security chest. and five heavy helicopters that can also drop up to 3,000 gallons, according to Forest Service spokeswoman Mary Bowman. Crews were battling at least two smaller Southern California wildfires as well, including one that burned at least 1,160 acres in San Timoteo Canyon in Riverside County and the Thurman Fire in San Bernardino County. Staff Writers Troy Anderson, Beth Barrett and Harrison Sheppard contributed to this report. Josh Kleinbaum, (818) 713-3669 josh.kleinbaum(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): 4 photos, map Photo: (1 -- color) Jill Dafesh wears a mask as protection from the smoke and ash as she stands next to her neighbors near Ellesmere Way and Deerbrook Road in Oak Park. John McCoy/Staff Photographer (2 -- color) A Los Angeles firefighter leans on a fence at the top of a hill while he monitors the fire, which was getting closer to homes in the Bell Canyon area Thursday. Hans Gutknecht/Staff Photographer (3 -- color) Nora Mikhael hugs daughter Monica, 14, as they watch the Topanga Fire approach their home in Mont Calabasas. Up to 2,000 homes were reported saved as 3,000 firefighters battled the firestorm that was fueled by heavy brush and high winds. Tina Burch/Staff Photographer (4) A fire crew uses a blast from a hose to protect the house of Allen and Joannie Powers in West Hills on Thursday. Joel P. Lugavere/Special to the Daily News Map: Topanga Fire: Estimated acres 16,200 burned* *Burn area as of 4 p.m. Warren Huskey/Staff Artist |
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