Last Report From the Fire !!
California Wildfire Burns Over 200 Homes
16 minutes ago Add U.S. National - AP
By LAURA WIDES, Associated Press Writer
SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. - Firefighters worked frantically Sunday to take advantage of a lull in the hot, dry winds that blew a ferocious firestorm into a neighborhood of suburban homes, destroying at least 200 and forcing thousands of panicked residents to flee.
The fire, blamed for the stress-related deaths of two residents, was threatening at least 1,000 more homes Sunday morning. It forced the evacuation of a university campus, Indian casino and state mental hospital, and firefighters couldn't say when it might be contained.
Gov. Gray Davis (news - web sites) declared a state of emergency for San Bernardino and Ventura counties Saturday.
"We are taking every possible step to support the firefighting effort," Davis said. He ordered firefighting agencies to use all available personnel and equipment in battling the blazes and said he called on President Bush (news - web sites) to issue a disaster declaration to free up federal loan money for people who lost their homes.
The devastating fire, one of several burning in the dry Southern California brush, erupted about 9 a.m. 50 miles east of downtown Los Angeles.
Fierce Santa Ana winds propelled the flames across 10,000 acres of chaparral within hours, spreading to a 12-mile front. That blaze and another, larger wildfire in the nearby Rancho Cucamonga area closed highways, cut power to thousands and choked the region with heavy smoke and ash.
The Rancho Cucamonga fire burned at least 10 homes Saturday and blackened more than 34,000 acres as it marched into the northern edge of the city and was driven into the Lytle Creek community.
About 100 miles to the northwest, in Ventura County, another fire was raging early Sunday in the hills above Simi Valley's Ronald Reagan (news - web sites) Presidential Library, and another was burning near Piru, where 300 homes were threatened for a time.
The hot Santa Ana winds gusted to 40 mph as they pushed the wildfires during the day Saturday but died down as temperatures fell late Saturday evening.
The fires created eerie scenes before dawn, with jagged streaks of orange illuminating the darkened skies so much that white smoke and ash could be seen swirling above the blackened hillsides.
By far the most devastating of the blazes started in San Bernardino's Old Waterman Canyon.
It forced the evacuation of the San Manuel Indian Reservation's casino and the campus of California State University, San Bernardino, where flames damaged two temporary classrooms and a temporary fitness center. Patton State Hospital, which houses about 1,300 mental patients, also had to be evacuated.
More than 4,200 people were ordered to leave their homes in the foothills of the San Bernardino Mountains, although some refused, staying behind to spray water on their roofs with garden hoses as flames danced all around them.
Robert Wilkes turned his hose on burning palm trees in an effort to keep the flames from his home and his neighbor's until he finally had to leave.
"He saved our house," said neighbor Dwane Caddell. Much of the rest of Caddell's property was damaged, however. His swimming pool was black with debris and singed palm trees and shrubbery surrounded the house.
The San Bernardino County coroner's office blamed the deaths of two men on stress caused by the fire. James W. McDermith, 70, collapsed while evacuating his home, and Charles Cunningham, 93, collapsed as he stood in the street watching his house burn.
As residents fled, some looters moved into devastated area, and at least three were arrested, said police Officer Frank Mankin.
Evacuation centers were packed, including one near San Bernardino International Airport, where as many as 1,000 people gathered, including about 50 people in wheelchairs who were taken from a convalescent home.
Hundreds of people sat beside their cars in the parking lot, some watching the burning hills through binoculars.
One family gathered in a prayer circle. Dozens of caged dogs and cats evacuated by their owners lined the roads.
Sharon Robinson, 62, and her daughter Kim Robinson, 46, left with their clothes and other belongings in the back of their truck.
"We've lived in our home for 35 years," Sharon Robinson said. "Fire has always stopped in the foothills. I never thought it would reach our home."
The fire closed Highway 18 into the San Bernardino Mountains and knocked out two transmission lines that provided electricity to about 28,000 customers in mountain hamlets including Lake Arrowhead, Crestline and Running Springs. Many houses in the area are vacation homes, said Steve Conroy of Southern California Edison (news - web sites). With the fire hindering repair work, the blackout could continue for days, he said.
City Fire Chief Larry Pitzer said more than 1,000 firefighters were battling the blaze, which spread furiously both up and down Old Waterman Canyon. It also split east and west, creating two fronts for firefighters to battle. Gov. Davis planned to visit the area later Sunday.
Compounding the problem in the dry Southern California mountains has been the damage caused by a bark beetle infestation that has killed hundreds of thousands of acres of trees.
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Too bad !!!!!!
