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CALIFORNIA
BURNING
WSN Network
SAN DIEGO:
California is burning, and it is no overstatement. Some 500,000 have
fled their homes as flames blaze through Southern California. Six
people have already died, of then two in the blaze and four during
evacuation. The wind-whipped wildfires have destroyed over 1,500
homes and the exodus is still continuing. It is mandatory too.
California is bracing to hear further bad news as the number of
houses destroyed is likely to rise since many fires were still
burning their path to the sea and were likely to go past the
populated communities.
In San Diego County,
authorities placed evacuation calls to 346,000 homes. An estimated
513,000 people were ordered to leave. Clearly, this was a mass
migration. The numbers we're seeing are staggering.
In Orange County,
fire officers complained there were not enough resources to go
around. Even the safety of firefighters was in danger.
Gov. Arnold
Schwarzenegger promised more help, including more people and
equipment. More than 200 homes burned in the San Bernardino County
communities of Lake Arrowhead and Running Springs along with another
1,100 homes, businesses and other buildings in San Diego County,
fire officials said.
One person died in
San Diego County over the weekend, and authorities confirmed a
second person died Monday of injuries received the day before in the
Buckweed Fire in northern Los Angeles County.
 The first victim was
identified as Thomas Varshock of Tecate, a town on the U.S. side of
the border southeast of San Diego, the San Diego County Medical
Examiner's Office said. Authorities had told him to evacuate, but he
didn't leave and authorities left to take care of other evacuations,
the Medical Examiner's Office said.
There were 45
injuries reported throughout Southern California, including at least
16 firefighters. The University of California San Diego Medical
Center Regional Burn Center was treating 16 patients from the San
Diego County fires, including three firefighters and four others in
critical condition.
With some 375,000
acres, or 585 square miles, ablaze, President Bush declared a
federal emergency for seven Southern California counties, a move
that will speed disaster-relief efforts. He also scheduled a visit
to the region on Thursday.
"He wants to ensure
that the state and local governments are getting what they need from
the federal government and he wants to make sure to deliver a
message in person to the victims that he has them in his thoughts
and prayers."
Meanwhile, the
Department of Defense agreed to send six Air Force and Air National
Guard water- or retardant-dropping planes.
Fire crews and
fleeing residents described desperate conditions that were sure to
get worse. Temperatures across Southern California were about 10
degrees above average and approached 100 degrees today in Orange and
San Diego counties where sustained Santa Ana winds gusted in some
areas to 65 mph.
The fires were
exploding and shooting embers before them in all directions,
preventing crews from forming traditional fire lines and greatly
limiting aerial bombardment.
"Our house is still
there right now but there are only six houses on our street that are
still standing," said Vallary Townsell, 25, who lives in the canyon
and works as a reporter with local cable TV Channel 3.
Thousands of
residents throughout Southern California sought shelter at
fairgrounds, schools and community centers. The largest gathering
was at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, where evacuees anxiously
watched the stadium's television sets, hoping for a glimpse of their
neighborhood on the local news.
Public schools,
campuses at the University of California, San Diego and San Diego
State University were all closed while National Guard troops manned
highway checkpoints in San Diego County. Flames were reminiscent of
the blazes that tore through Southern California four years ago this
month, killing 22 and destroying 3,640 homes. Full containment of
the most fierce fires in
San Diego,
officials estimated, could come as early as Nov. 1.
24 October,
2007
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