September 6, 2009 9:44 PM
- Text
Calif. Wildfires Destroy 655 Homes
(CBS/AP)
Wildfires blown by fierce desert winds Monday reduced hundreds of Southern California homes to ashes, forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee and laid a hellish, spidery pattern of luminous orange over the drought-stricken region.
Firefighters - about 11,000 of them, fighting 14 different blazes which have charred 400 square miles - describe desperate conditions that are likely to worsen, with hotter temperatures and high winds forecast for Tuesday. One person has been killed and at least 16 firefighters and 25 other people have been injured since the fires began on Sunday.
At least 655 homes burned - about 130 in one mountain area alone - and 168 businesses and other structures were destroyed. Thousands of other buildings were threatened by more than a dozen blazes covering at least 240,000 acres, the equivalent of 374 square miles.
California officials are asking for help from firefighters in other states and from the federal government. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff says the federal government plans to send six water-dropping aircraft on Tuesday.
"The sky was just red. Everywhere I looked was red, glowing. Law enforcement came barreling in with police cars with loudspeakers telling everyone to get out now," said Ronnie Leigh, 55, who fled her mobile home in northern Los Angeles County as smoke darkened the sky over the nearby ridge line.
Soon after nightfall, fire officials announced that 500 homes and 100 commercial properties had been destroyed by a fire in northern San Diego County that exploded to 145,000 acres, said Roxanne Provaznik, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Forestry. The fire injured seven firefighters and one civilian, and was spreading unchecked.
A pair of wildfires consumed 133 homes in the Lake Arrowhead mountain resort area in the San Bernardino National Forest east of Los Angeles, authorities said. Hundreds of homes were lost in the same community fours years ago.
Firefighters - who lost valuable time trying to persuade stubborn homeowners to leave - had their work cut out for them as winds gusting to 70 mph scattered embers onto dry brush, spawning spot fires. California officials pleaded for help from fire departments in other states.
"A lot of people are going to lose their homes," said San Diego Fire Capt. Lisa Blake.
"It's probably closer to 300,000," said County Supervisor Ron Roberts.
There are so many fires burning with such intensity that firefighters are overwhelmed, reports CBS News correspondent Bill Whitaker. In the Lake Arrowhead resort area, east of Los Angeles, flames destroyed nearly 130 homes in an area where hundreds burned four years ago.
Not far south in Orange County, adds Whitaker, children clutching their parents' hands were forced to run from Foothill Elementary school to escape a fast-moving fire bearing down on the sprawling city of Irvine.
Hundreds of patients were moved by school bus and ambulance from a hospital and nursing homes, some in hospital gowns and wheelchairs. Some carried their medical records in clear plastic bags.
A 1,049-inmate jail in Orange County was evacuated because of heavy smoke. The prisoners were bused to other lockups.
Firefighters - about 11,000 of them, fighting 14 different blazes which have charred 400 square miles - describe desperate conditions that are likely to worsen, with hotter temperatures and high winds forecast for Tuesday. One person has been killed and at least 16 firefighters and 25 other people have been injured since the fires began on Sunday.
At least 655 homes burned - about 130 in one mountain area alone - and 168 businesses and other structures were destroyed. Thousands of other buildings were threatened by more than a dozen blazes covering at least 240,000 acres, the equivalent of 374 square miles.
California officials are asking for help from firefighters in other states and from the federal government. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff says the federal government plans to send six water-dropping aircraft on Tuesday.
"The sky was just red. Everywhere I looked was red, glowing. Law enforcement came barreling in with police cars with loudspeakers telling everyone to get out now," said Ronnie Leigh, 55, who fled her mobile home in northern Los Angeles County as smoke darkened the sky over the nearby ridge line.
Soon after nightfall, fire officials announced that 500 homes and 100 commercial properties had been destroyed by a fire in northern San Diego County that exploded to 145,000 acres, said Roxanne Provaznik, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Forestry. The fire injured seven firefighters and one civilian, and was spreading unchecked.
A pair of wildfires consumed 133 homes in the Lake Arrowhead mountain resort area in the San Bernardino National Forest east of Los Angeles, authorities said. Hundreds of homes were lost in the same community fours years ago.
Firefighters - who lost valuable time trying to persuade stubborn homeowners to leave - had their work cut out for them as winds gusting to 70 mph scattered embers onto dry brush, spawning spot fires. California officials pleaded for help from fire departments in other states.
"A lot of people are going to lose their homes," said San Diego Fire Capt. Lisa Blake.
From San Diego to Malibu, more than 150 miles up the coast, at least 265,000 people were warned to leave their homes. More than 250,000 were told to flee in San Diego County alone.
"It's probably closer to 300,000," said County Supervisor Ron Roberts.
There are so many fires burning with such intensity that firefighters are overwhelmed, reports CBS News correspondent Bill Whitaker. In the Lake Arrowhead resort area, east of Los Angeles, flames destroyed nearly 130 homes in an area where hundreds burned four years ago.
Not far south in Orange County, adds Whitaker, children clutching their parents' hands were forced to run from Foothill Elementary school to escape a fast-moving fire bearing down on the sprawling city of Irvine.
Hundreds of patients were moved by school bus and ambulance from a hospital and nursing homes, some in hospital gowns and wheelchairs. Some carried their medical records in clear plastic bags.
A 1,049-inmate jail in Orange County was evacuated because of heavy smoke. The prisoners were bused to other lockups.
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