HOUSES SAVED FROM 300-FOOT-HIGH WALLS OF FLAMES DAY FIRE CHARS AREA BIG AS THE VALLEY.Byline: JUDY O'ROURKE and PATRICIA PATRICIA Practical Algorithm To Retrieve Information Coded In Alphanumeric PATRICIA Proving and Testability for Reliability Improvement of Complex Integrated Architectures PATRICIA PApilloma TRIal Cervical cancer In young Adults FARRELL AIDEM Staff Writers LOCKWOOD VALLEY -- A quiet descended Wednesday on the rural enclaves tucked in the thick woodlands of northeastern Ventura County, just a day after ferocious winds whipped flames up to 300 feet tall that charged right up to property lines and sent residents packing. Tuesday night, this fire that has burned for 24 days, mostly in remote canyons of 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. , had made its first real threat. But firefighters held their own against frighteningly unpredictable gusts and saved some 700 homes in the path of the relentless Day Fire, which has charred an area the size of the entire 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. . ``The challenge with this fire has been the winds,'' said Larry Comerford, a U.S. Forest Service spokesman. ``They blow hard one day and shift the opposite way the next day. No warning.'' On Wednesday, the sun rose on blackened black·en v. black·ened, black·en·ing, black·ens v.tr. 1. To make black. 2. To sully or defame: a scandal that blackened the mayor's name. 3. skeletons of trees encircling encircling (en·serˑ·k Tom Warner's home in Lockwood Valley. A Santa Barbara Santa Barbara (săn'tə bär`brə, –bərə), city (1990 pop. 85,571), seat of Santa Barbara co., S Calif., on the Pacific Ocean; inc. 1850. County Fire Department crew, which had helped him and his 25-year-old son save the home the night before, was mopping up hot spots hot spots acute moist dermatitis. on the ranch property Wednesday. ``A wall of fire came through -- 100 feet to 150 feet (high),'' said Capt. Sid Porrazzo, whose crew had cleared brush around the hilltop home before the fire arrived. ``We stayed and protected his house from burning down.'' Warner's wife, Gail, and 15-year-old daughter, Krissy, had evacuated with the family's two dogs and a cat. ``When the wind laid down in the trees, (the fire) went top to top to top to top as fast as you can think,'' Warner, 50, said as a siren sounded in the distance. ``At one point, we were pretty much surrounded in the house.'' With more of the same weather predicted for today, fire officials said they have no idea when they'll get a handle on this blaze that was ignited Labor Day by a man burning debris in the Los Padres National Forest. Miles and miles to the south, there was some relief Wednesday in the towns of Fillmore, Santa Paula and Ojai where fire crews had managed significant progress in cutting a containment line. There are 3,970 firefighters with 226 fire engines fighting this blaze, the largest burning in the nation. In the air are 30 helicopters, seven tanker helicopters and 10 air tankers. ``It's really, really big. The wind is blowing again and we just got news there's a red flag warning A Red Flag Warning is a forecast warning issued by the United States National Weather Service to tell area firefighting and land management agencies that conditions are ideal for wildland fire ignition and propagation. through (tonight,)'' said Danny Medrano, a fire inspector with the Fire Protection District. Much of the forest hasn't burned in 75 years, and the land is rugged and impossible for engines to navigate under heavy smoke. The thick brown plumes and the high winds also make it tough to battle from the air, Medrano said. So the blaze burns on. The heat is so searing sear 1 v. seared, sear·ing, sears v.tr. 1. To char, scorch, or burn the surface of with or as if with a hot instrument. See Synonyms at burn1. 2. in the dense wilderness that giant stands of trees ignite before they're even touched by the advancing flames, Merino Merino Breed of medium-sized sheep originating in Spain that has become prominent worldwide. It has a white face, white legs, and crimped fine-wool fleece. Known as early as the 12th century, it may have been a Moorish importation. said. Forty-five bulldozers and hundreds of crew members are cutting and burning away brush to create a line to halt the flames -- containment lines the Day Fire has mocked since it began. The goal is a daunting daunt tr.v. daunt·ed, daunt·ing, daunts To abate the courage of; discourage. See Synonyms at dismay. [Middle English daunten, from Old French danter, from Latin 60-mile line -- the distance by freeway from Six Flags California's Magic Mountain in Valencia to Disneyland in Anaheim. Aside from a vast swath of wilderness that holds bears, mountain lions and rare bighorn sheep Bighorn sheep a tall (up to 3 ft), heavy (up to 300 lb body weight) wild sheep that lives in inaccessible mountain country where it exercises its principal achievement of prodigious leaping and climbing. Called also Ovis canadensis. Several regional varieties, e.g. O. c. , the losses have been minimal. Five unoccupied structures, including two barns, have burned. Evacuations were urged Tuesday in a half-dozen small mountain communities, including Lockwood Valley, Pine Mountain Club and Frazier Park, as the northern flank of the fire took off. Robert Keller, who lives in Pine Mountain Club, stayed away. Keller came home from work early Tuesday and loaded up valuables, five dogs, two cats and two turtles and moved them to a friend's home in Lebec. On Wednesday, he shopped at a Shell station there, stocking up on provisions. ``We moved from Northridge after the Northridge Earthquake,'' he said. ``After surviving the earthquake ... you know what's most valuable.'' He retrieved old Chinese statues, a Buddhist bench, Italian carvings and landscape paintings from the 5,400-square-foot custom-built home he shares with a roommate. On Tuesday, a camel, emus, alpacas and assorted livestock were evacuated from a ranch in the area, said Greg Cleveland, a spokesman for the multiagency team fighting the fire. Aircraft that ferried hotshot crews lined the main drag, their occupants cutting lines and hidden in the terrain. Engines from faraway fire stations lined the road, their crews deployed in smoldering smol·der also smoul·der intr.v. smol·dered, smol·der·ing, smol·ders 1. To burn with little smoke and no flame. 2. brush. ``We're making sure there are no hot spots (remaining),'' said Capt. Butch Paddock of the La Mesa Fire The La Mesa Fire was a destructive wildfire which burned 15,444 acres (62.5 km²) of Bandelier National Monument and part of Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, USA. The fire was human-caused and began in the afternoon of June 16, 1977. Department near San Diego, who arrived about 3 a.m. ``With the wind picking up, it could cross over the road.'' Field observers scouted the area, using weather and global positioning devices. ``We figure out where it (the fire) is and where it's going,'' said Capt. Joe Brock of the Orange County Fire Authority The Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA) is the agency that provides fire protection and emergency medical services for unincorporated areas of Orange County, California and cities that contract OCFA's services. , who arrived last week. ``That's an angry fire right now,'' said fellow observer Battalion Chief Kevin Conant of the San Jose Fire Department. judy.orourke(at)dailynews.com (661) 257-5255 CAPTION(S): 3 photos, box, map Photo: (1 -- color in Valley edition only) Members of a Lockwood Valley family inspect the remnants of a trailer on their property after the Day Fire burned through the area Tuesday night. A Santa Barbara County Fire Department crew helped save the family's house. (2 -- color) Cattle continue to rest and graze along Lockwood Valley Road as the massive 24-day-old Day Fire fills the valley with an eerie glow and smoke. David Crane/Staff Photographer (3 -- color -- ran in Valley edition only) A stand of trees bursts into flames hundreds of feet high Wednesday behind a TV news reporter as she and her cameraman find themselves uncomfortably close to the Day Fire. Mike Meadows/Special to the Daily News Box: (ran in Valley edition only) The Day Fire Sources: www.geoweb.com, Daily News research Map: (ran in Valley edition only) Burn area Warren Huskey/Staff Artist |
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