BLAZING HOT FIREFIGHTERS BRACE FOR THE WORST AS TEMPERATURES CLIMB.Byline: Jason Kandel Staff Writer As wildfires raked rake 1 n. 1. A long-handled implement with a row of projecting teeth at its head, used especially to gather leaves or to loosen or smooth earth. 2. A device that resembles such an implement. v. the state Friday, 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. firefighters said they have braced for 100-degree temperatures this weekend and the highest local fire danger so far this season. Firefighters have beefed up patrols and, in an unusual move, decided not to lend more help to agencies battling brush fires flaring up and down the state from the Sequoia National Forest Sequoia National Forest is located in the southern Sierra Nevada mountains of California. The national forest is named for the majestic Giant Sequoia trees which populate 38 groves within the boundaries of the forest; the Giant Sequoia National Monument is also located within the to San Diego San Diego (săn dēā`gō), city (1990 pop. 1,110,549), seat of San Diego co., S Calif., on San Diego Bay; inc. 1850. San Diego includes the unincorporated communities of La Jolla and Spring Valley. Coronado is across the bay. County. ``We're holding back on sending additional resources to these other areas because it's going to be hot over the weekend,'' said Herbert Spitzer, assistant chief of the Los Angeles County Fire Prevention Bureau's Forestry Division. ``We had some really bad days back in June, but now the brush has just had a little more time to dry out. We'll have enough guys here to tackle anything that comes up,'' he said. Forecasters said temperatures could hit 106 degrees in the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. this weekend, with less than normal rain for the year. ``It wouldn't take much to start a fire,'' Spitzer said. On Friday, five fires were burning across the state. California and nine other western states are experiencing the worst wildfire season since 1996, charring Charring is a process of incomplete combustion that often occurs when biological tissue (living or dead) is subjected to heat. The resulting matter is sometimes called char. Coke and charcoal are produced this way. more than 120,000 acres. This week, federal, state and county firefighters worked to contain blazes outside Bakersfield, in San Diego County, in the Santa Clarita Valley The Santa Clarita Valley is the valley of the Santa Clara River in Southern California. It stretches through Los Angeles County and Ventura County. Its main population center is the city of Santa Clarita. The valley was part of the 48,612-acre (19,672. , and in the Sequoia National Park Sequoia National Park, 402,510 acres (162,960 hectares), E central Calif.; est. 1890. In the park are 35 groves of giant sequoias, spectacular granite mountains, and deep canyons. , among other areas. ``We're certainly concerned about the fire threat brought on by projected temperatures and lower humidity this weekend,'' said the California Department of Forestry's Jim Wright, the assistant director for fire protection. Wright is particularly concerned about whether California has enough firefighters to handle the outbreaks of fires, particularly if Los Angeles begins to burn. The unruly fires have even forced the federal government to enlist help from federal troops. In California, U.S. Forest Service and Los Angeles County firefighters extinguished ex·tin·guish tr.v. ex·tin·guished, ex·tin·guish·ing, ex·tin·guish·es 1. To put out (a fire, for example); quench. 2. To put an end to (hopes, for example); destroy. See Synonyms at abolish. 3. a 150-acre brush fire in Santa Clarita Santa Clarita, city (1990 pop. 110,642), Los Angeles co., S Calif., suburb 30 mi (48 km) NW of downtown Los Angeles, on the Santa Clara River; inc. 1987. Situated in the Santa Clara valley and nearby canyons, Santa Clarita includes the former towns of Canyon Country, , which burned for five hours Thursday night and Friday. One firefighter was taken to Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital with a possible hand fracture, said Forest Service spokesman Bruce Quintelier. Los Angeles County authorities said that if a fire breaks out over the weekend, they could call in additional water tender and helicopter crews, and water-dropping plane crews for service from L.A. and Ventura counties. Four C-130 transport aircraft were on standby at Point Mugu Naval Air Weapons Station this week. Routine brush clearance inspections have been under way since May in the surrounding hills and mountains in the area. ``But emergencies always come first,'' said county fire spokesman Capt. Mark Savage. ``We can always go back to our routine duties afterward af·ter·ward also af·ter·wards adv. At a later time; subsequently. Adv. 1. afterward - happening at a time subsequent to a reference time; "he apologized subsequently"; "he's going to the store but he'll be back here . We typically augment our staffing levels as the temperatures rise.'' Dry, summer heat could make the San Fernando Valley a virtual tinderbox tin·der·box n. 1. A metal box for holding tinder. 2. A potentially explosive place or situation: referred to the crowded prison as a tinderbox of suppressed violence. over the weekend, forecasters said, as temperatures are expected to hit 106 degrees Sunday. The area has not seen rain since April 17, when weather forecasters recorded 10.73 inches of rain for the season. ``It will be uncomfortably hot during the daytime hours,'' said Clint Simpson, a weather specialist for the National Weather Service. ``There is an increasing danger with dry and hot weather for fire, but we don't like to advertise that because there are nuts out there who might go out and start a fire.'' Elsewhere in the state, state Department of Forestry firefighters had contained 30 percent of a 500-acre fire Friday morning near Lake Morena in San Diego County, Wright said. Authorities expected to have that fire fully contained by Friday night. At the same time, hundreds of firefighters in the Sequoia National Park worked to contain a fire that charred more than 25,000 acres by Friday. The fire began July 22, and threatened homes, forcing evacuations. Firefighters hope to get that one under control by Aug. 10, Wright said. Also on Friday, firefighters attacked a blaze in the Domeland Wilderness, about 75 miles northeast of Bakersfield. Authorities reported that a man lighting a pilot-light in his RV with a burning piece of paper might have sparked a fire in the Los Padres National Forest Los Padres National Forest is a forest located in southern and central California, which includes most of the mountainous land along the California coast from Ventura to Monterey, extending inland. Elevations range from sea level to 8,831 feet. . That blaze was more than 60 percent contained by Friday. Also on Friday, flames erupted in Death Valley, where temperatures hit 115 degrees. Firefighters made some headway in Lake County on Thursday night, successfully snuffing out a 3,200-acre fire. And in Siskiyou County, fire teams contained a 1,715-acre blaze. CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1 -- color) A firefighter runs for the open road Friday as a wall of fire comes his way during a brush fire that burned about 150 acres along Francisquito Canyon Road. Gene Blevins/Special to the Daily News (2) A fire department helicopter flies overhead Friday morning as U.S. Forest Service firefighters mop up after a brush fire in Green Valley. Shaun Dyer/Special to the Daily News |
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