WESTERNERS FLEE HOMES THREATENED BY WILDFIRES.Byline: Daily News Staff and Wire Services Wind-driven wildfires burned untamed Monday in six Western states, crackling across more than 100,000 acres, destroying homes and forcing thousands of residents to flee. In the Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, area, Monday temperatures dropped while the winds picked up as firefighters worked to put out brush fires in 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. , San Bernardino San Bernardino, city, United States San Bernardino (săn bûr'nədē`nō), city (1990 pop. 164,164), seat of San Bernardino co., S Calif., at the foot of the San Bernardino Mts.; inc. 1854. and Riverside counties. In Los Angeles County, two fires were burning, including one that started Sunday afternoon in 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 along the 5200 block of Shannon Valley Road near Palmdale. It had burned several thousand acres by late Monday afternoon, said Capt. Steve Valenzuela of the county fire department. That fire was about 80 percent contained, with some 450 firefighters assigned to the effort, he said. Four helicopters were making drops on the Antelope Valley fire. One home was damaged and three outbuildings destroyed, but no one was injured. About 40 horses from the Lazy T Ranch were moved as a precaution. Another fire started Sunday afternoon near San Gabriel Canyon Road and East Fork Road East Fork Road in the San Gabriel Mountains above the City of Azusa, California, is a road that gives access off of Highway 39 into East Fork, California and other small townships. and charred more than 1,500 acres by late Monday. It was about 10 percent contained, or surrounded, Monday afternoon, said Delores Chacon of the California Department of Forestry. About 235 firefighters, from the forest service and Los Angeles County, were working to tame the fire, she said. Two helicopters were helping out. Some campers were evacuated from the area around Crystal Lake, Chacon said. At least 18 fires burned in Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Utah, Washington and California, where homes were among the 30 structures incinerated by a 44,000-acre blaze called the Willow fire, between Lake Arrowhead and Apple Valley, some 80 miles northeast of Los Angeles. It wasn't known how many homes were destroyed, U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman Karen McKinley said. More than 400 residents left homes Sunday afternoon as 30 mph winds pushed flames through brush and spiny spiny sharp spines protrude. spiny amaranth amaranthusspinosum. spiny anteater see echidna. spiny clotburr xanthiumspinosum. spiny emex see emex australis. Joshua Trees. Five people were arrested for allegedly looting abandoned homes, sheriff's spokeswoman Jennie Risley said. Resident Debbie Kimball, whose home was in the path of flames, said she mentally ``kissed it all goodbye'' when she left her home Sunday. The fire came within two feet of her door, but the house was OK when she returned Monday. John Sullivan left the Apple Valley High School evacuation center early Monday expecting to find his home in rubble. It was still standing. Grinning as he made a cellular telephone call to his wife, he said, ``Good news. The house is standing. Nothing got burned.'' The National Interagency Fire Center The National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) in Boise, Idaho, is the physical facility that is home to the National Interagency Coordination Center (NICC), and the National Multi-Agency Coordination group (NMAC or MAC). in Boise, Idaho, said 100,000 acres were burning and 10,000 firefighters were fighting flames. More than 100 aircraft were assigned to the fires. Firefighting ranks were thinning, but James Stone at the Boise center said, ``We haven't run out yet.'' The West's largest blaze, a 45,000-acre fire north of Reno, was surrounded late Sunday and firefighters were dousing hot spots hot spots acute moist dermatitis. on Monday. In Northern California, firefighters struggled with clusters of fires that burned 4,374 acres in the Shasta-Trinity National Forests. Another fire cluster in Shasta and Trinity counties burned 18,500 acres. A 29,000-acre fire in Modoc National Forest Modoc National Forest is a 1,654,392 acre (6695 km) national forest in northeastern California. Most of the forest was covered by an immense lava flow millions of years ago. was 40 percent contained and in Butte County, firefighters expected full containment of several fires that burned 32,879 acres. A cluster of six fires was burning across 8,353 acres in the Plumas National Forest Plumas National Forest is a United States National Forest located in northern California. It is located in the Sierra Nevada mountains and covers 1,146,000 acres (4,638 km²) of land. This is mostly an area for logging. . Three Utah fires included a 3,000-acre blaze and a wind-churned 750-acre fire about 40 miles west of Salt Lake City. In Washington, a 275-acre fire in the Columbia River gorge was expected to be extinguished at 6 p.m. A lightning strike was the suspected cause of a 1,600-acre grass fire 13 miles west of American Falls in Idaho. About 350 acres burning near Idaho's Fort Hall was expected to be contained by nightfall. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: A Loma Linda firefighter passes a roadrunner roadrunner or chaparral cock Either of two species of terrestrial cuckoo, especially Geococcyx californianus (family Cuculidae), of Mexican and southwestern U.S. deserts. About 22 in. sign as his unit fights a brush fire Monday in Apple Valley. Damian Dovarganes/Associated Press |
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