MANPOWER TAXED BY FLAMES FIREFIGHTERS BUILDING LINE AROUND BLAZE.Byline: ALEX DOBUZINSKIS 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 CASTAIC -- Hoping to contain the massive 15-day-old Day Fire, firefighters are constructing a 50-mile line around its flanks -- defying walls of flame that are devouring wilderness as they charge toward a half-dozen communities. Tired to the bone, some 2,100 firefighters from 48 departments have fought what, so far, has been a losing battle against a blaze that on Monday was but 15 percent contained after charring rugged wilderness over an area larger than the city of Fresno. They battle from the ground and the air, but can't keep up with Mother Nature, who has teased with cooler days and some drizzle only to come back with smashing winds, scorching scorch v. scorched, scorch·ing, scorch·es v.tr. 1. To burn superficially so as to discolor or damage the texture of. See Synonyms at burn1. 2. heat and dry desert air. Some of this forest land hasn't burned since the 1920s. ``I've been on fires that are in worse terrain than this, but I haven't been on one that burned as hot and as intensely as this,'' said Firefighter Kyle Halstead, 21, of Quartz Hill. For Halstead and the rest of the crew of Engine 37, it's about time It's About Time may refer to:
His U.S. Forest Service engine team has been battling the Day Fire since Sept. 5, the day after it started. The Forest Service normally sends crews home after 14 days -- so like many other firefighters, the Engine 37 crew is maxed out. It's all part of the life of a wildland firefighter during the burn season, and the members of this team have been working for months with only a few full days of rest. ``You get tired but you've still got to get the job done,'' said Firefighter Adam Stanwood, 23, of Lancaster. ``Everyone's tired, you're not the only one. And everyone else is still working so you've just got to keep pushing.'' At least a few of the half-dozen crew members haven't taken showers since arriving at base camp two weeks ago. A couple of them have grown beards, all of them have spent hours in food lines. They've been drinking plenty of water to stay hydrated hy·drat·ed adj. Chemically combined with water, especially existing in the form of a hydrate. Adj. 1. hydrated - containing combined water (especially water of crystallization as in a hydrate) hydrous . A few of them have kept in the game by downing energy drinks. And they've seen flames swirl in the air and do things that you don't see on every fire. By Monday afternoon, the fire had burned more than 70,000 acres 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. , about 10 miles northwest of Castaic. A fire this large covers huge ground because it's burning on all sides. The Day Fire doubled in size on Saturday, swept by 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 -- that followed a few days of cooler weather in which firefighters had hoped to gain ground. Engine 37 crew was hiking Monday down into 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. terrain, putting out any lingering hot spots hot spots acute moist dermatitis. amid the burned brush. That was until they got a radio call sending them closer to the fire line. The fire advanced this time northeast toward state Route 138, the road to the town of Gorman. On the southern flank, residents in Piru, Fillmore, Santa Paula Santa Paula (săn`tə pôl`ə), city (1990 pop. 25,062), Ventura co., S Calif., on the Santa Clara River in a fertile valley that yields citrus fruits, avocados, vegetables, flowers, nursery products, and walnuts; laid out 1875, inc. , Ojai and a handful of specks on Ventura County's map have watched with a cautious eye as this relentless fire advances. Some have fled, others have stayed to protect their homes. Evacuation centers are getting few drop-ins, but that could change. This fire, still far enough from civilization, has had impacts much farther away. Choking smoke blanketed the city of Ventura when the winds shifted this weekend and residents were advised to stay inside. Last week, it was the Antelope Valley This article is about the Los Angeles County region. For the census-designated place in Wyoming, see Antelope Valley-Crestview, Wyoming. The Antelope Valley and eastern 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. where ash and smoke spewed from a fire 30 to 50 miles away. Enormous brown clouds rise each day, visible from 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. to Bakersfield. The Ventura County Air Pollution Control District issued a smoke advisory Monday for much of Ventura County including 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. , 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. , Moorpark, Ventura and the Santa Clara River Valley The Santa Clara River Valley is a rural region of eastern Ventura County, California and northwest Los Angeles County, California that is named for the Santa Clara River which winds through the valley before emptying into the Pacific Ocean between the cities of Oxnard and Ventura. , which links Valencia to Ventura. The district warned those with chronic health problems such as asthma or heart disease to avoid the smoky air. Some schools kept children indoors. Meanwhile, firefighterrs are working 16-hour days, sometimes a little more, Stanwood said. Often, they get no more than six hours of sleep at base camp -- which is back at Castaic Lake Castaic Lake is a lake on Castaic Creek formed by Castaic Dam, in northwestern Los Angeles County, California, near the town of Castaic. The 323,700 acre foot lake (399,000,000 m³) is the terminus of the West Branch of the California Aqueduct, though some comes from the 154 mi² , where tents for the firefighters are spread out on the grass. The crew members use cell phones to call their wives back home. At least they can get reception in the area -- on past fires they've had to hike up a hill to make a call. Taking a shower back at base camp doesn't seem worth it because of the long lines. So they've got another way to stay clean. ``Gold Bond and baby wipes,'' said Firefighter Matt Snyder, 24, of Lancaster. ``It's all you need.'' Fires in the area normally burn for just a few days, but the Day Fire has burned for much longer because the steep terrain makes it hard to get to the flames. ``If we could have gotten to it quicker -- it was only a couple thousand acres the first couple of days -- if we could have gotten to it then we might have had a better chance at it,'' said Firefighter Colby Stout, 27, of Palmdale. ``But the country that it's in is just nasty.'' Once they get back home, the Engine 37 crew will have a couple days of rest. Then it could be sent back to the Day Fire. James Parker, captain of the engine crew, is ready to go home to Palmdale. ``Yeah, I'm going to take a shower, get something better to eat,'' he said. alex.dobuzinskis(at)dailynews.com (661) 257-5253 CAPTION(S): 8 photos, box, map Photo: (1 -- color -- ran in AV and SAC editions only) U.S. Forest Service Firefighter Kyle Halstead from the Valyermo station has been on the Day Fire, looming in the background, for a week. Shortly after this photo was taken, his truck was called back to the front of the fire. (2 -- 3 -- color in SAC edition only; ran in AV and SAC editions only) At right, U.S. Forest Service Firefighters James Parker, left; Adam Stanwood; Matt Snyder; and Colby Stout from the Valyermo station have been on the Day Fire for a week. The Day Fire has merited its own shirt as worn by a firefighter, below, at the base camp at Castaic Lake. (4 -- color -- ran in SAC edition only) Smoke, above right, from the fire rises above Castaic Lake, where weary firefighters head to sleep away from the smoke. David Crane/Staff Photographer (5 -- color in AV edition only; ran in AV and Valley editions only) Tankers come in to refuel re·fu·el v. re·fu·eled also re·fu·elled, re·fu·el·ing also re·fu·el·ling, re·fu·els also re·fu·els v.tr. To supply again with fuel. v.intr. at Fox Airfield as the Day Fire burns out of control. (6 -- color) A U.S. Forest Service tanker crew at Fox Field in Lancaster, left, has been working to keep air tankers in the air fighting the Day Fire. Gene Blevins/Special to the Daily News (7 -- 8 -- color -- ran in SAC edition only) Below, firefighters board a helicopter Monday to take them to the fire line. Bottom, Brian Earley, an Ojai resort, wears a mask to guard against smoke from the fire. Tina Burch/Staff Photographer Box/Map: (ran in SAC and Valley editions only) The Day Fire Source: www.inciweb.org Warren Huskey/Staff Artist |
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