Calif. Wildfires Destroy 655 Homes

1 Dead, Dozens Hurt; 10,000 Of 265,000 Evacuees At Qualcomm Stadium

(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.

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.

[barbaraf4]

"My parents taught me not to allow my possessions to posses me," Lawrence told KABC-TV. "So, that''s the story. The house is a house."

Spoken like a person who has a more than sufficient cash base. Whatever burns can be replaced. Some of the others might not be that lucky.

[jyu1915]

For information on fires in the LA area and list of evacuations and evacuation centers go to:
http://www.fire.lacounty.gov/

Ventura Co. Fire Dept: http://fire.countyofventura.org/

BTW, these fires are threatening more than just rich celebrities.

[oleander8]

"Spoken like a person who has a more than sufficient cash base. Whatever burns can be replaced. Some of the others might not be that lucky."[Posted by Barbaraf4]

No, Sounded to me like a person that has her priorities straight.

[mind-matter]

Note the contrasting attitudes:

"My parents taught me not to allow my possessions to posses me," Lawrence told KABC-TV. "So, that''s the story. The house is a house."

"It''s devastating," Pastor Greg Hughes told Whitaker. "This is a building that is filled with memories, over 50 years of memories."

It doesn''t matter what your station in life is. What matters is weather or not you are attached to the changing world of relative possessions, or to the Unchanging, Unmanifest, Spirit. Pastor Greg Hughes appears to be attached to his relative possessions.

Your external circumstances, whether you are rich or poor, whatever your job is, whatever possessions you have, these things do not determine your state of enlightenment.

[jetranger7]

Everybody go buy a 6-pack of beer and put out that fire !!!

[yankeerebel7]

Man what is up with CA all these fires? This is ridiculous. I guess getting to live out humidity does sometimes have it''s drawbacks.

[king77shaw]

Mother Earth, our true Goddess, will nurture those who nurture her ...

[kevboom]

"Godless places get hit over and over again."

Yeah, it''s God that''s causing all this to happen. Whatever. Why do people always have to make God out to be this vindictive spirit. I''m sure it has nothing to do with people building their houses on windy hillsides covered in dry grasses. Duh. If there''s one silver lining, it''s that anyone who could afford to live in Malibu in the first place can also likely afford to rebuild in Malibu.

[ladyjaneg]

I''m praying that everyone who hasn''t already been hurt, can stay safe and have a home to go back to.

[cathaleen]

Tanya Tucker was interviewed and said that there were firemen in her house trying to save her guest house.
Pleeeese

[l8c6]

Where is the Blackwater fire department? They could still collect government funds and likewise be able to protect the most valued americans without government interference.

[usayesterday]

Look up in the dictionary or search on the internet:

"Dadaism"

Once you find the definition/meaning of that word..

...you will then know the style of the postings of "snidegrass".

[dbstevens]

Reading about how the resources were stretched because of the people who refused to evacuate reminds me of the horrors and absurdity after Katrina. I lost my home and all my belongings then. So much more could have been done to save that city if so much of the resources hadn''t been spent trying to help the stubborn, selfish people who wouldn''t leave and then found themselves immersed in a horrible situation. There was only a small percentage of people who COULDN''T leave. In the case of these wildfires, those stupid, selfish people should be held responsible in some way for some of the damage. Firefighters should be fighting fire, not coaxing fools out of their homes.

Of course, I know it''s not all that clear-cut. But as I sit here and read this article, all those terrible memories come flooding back, and I just sit in wonder at how selfish and foolish people can be, and how badly they can affect others with their behavior. I wonder if people in general are SMART enough to deserve the freedoms we have in this country.

[mike71067]

Santa Ana winds are caused by an unusual high-pressure system of cold air. Oh my - the world is going to hell in a handbasket due to GLOBAL COOLING!!! Al Gore, save us!

[gretsy]

Why do most people BLAME GOD for everything that is bad?

The Bible book of James chapter 1 vs 13 says
"When under trail, let no one say: "I am being tried by God." FOR WITH EVIL THINGS GOD CANNOT BE TRIED NOR DOES HE HIMSELF TRY ANYONE.

Why not put the blame where it is due? SATAN!!!
He is the god of this world and he has always tried to get people to blame GOD for the things he is responsible for. DUH!! SATAN IS ALSO CALLED A god.

The Bible says GOD is love.

Study your Bible and you will know how Satan has deceived almost the whole world with his deceit.

It is like GOD is a real diamond and Satan is like the cheap imitation that is so popular today.

[killtheliars]

it would be nice to get some help from the Calif. National Guard. Oh, thats right, they are all in Iraq.

[drivelphobe]

In today''s high tech environment, wouldn''t it be a possibility to shut down electrical current instantly when there is a break in the power line? I don''t get it. It seems that downed power lines are responsible for so many fires.

[myidoncbs]

Someone claimed, "It takes a human to start the fires".

Haven''t you ever heard of wildfires being started by LIGHTNING? It happens quite frequently. No human involvement required!

[usbrit-2009]

Scientifically speaking you need three things to start a fire 1) fuel (dry grass etc.) 2) an oxidant (air) and 3) an ignition source (all too often human, however lightening or other sparks suffice).

With due contempt to newster1, whether you''re rich, poor, insured or not, losing one''s home is a tragic event and should evoke sympathy rather than vitriol.

[susanhelit]

Most of these homes are not of the rich - quite the contrary. Ramona is a rural town, and Poway is a nice place to live, but far from wealthy. Of course, the million dollar houses burning get more PR - but that''s not the ordinary story here. When this happened 4 years ago, it shut down almost the whole city, from really horrible smoke pollution everywhere - you could see the air even indoors.


San Diego is a semi-desert, so plants dry out quickly, and the Santa Ana winds are horrible strong winds that can go on for days, blowing straight from the desert to the ocean - perfect for carrying sparks - which have even been able to cross the widest freeways (15 lanes - normally a very effective firebreak).

[truthspeake2]

FEMA to the rescue again...

[draugwolf]

"We will put the fire to your feet " osama bin laden june 2003 ..this is terrorism pure and simple..time to get out of iraq and put all of our efforts into afganistan and invade pakistan and end this once and for all..and don''t be nice about it ..that border region should be sprayed repeatedly with VX nerve agent.. and dont deny that this needs to be done yesterday

[feelfree1]

When you build millions of homes in the desert, you should not be too surprised when you get burned.

[myidoncbs]

No, mitch0927, I just blame Bush for the things he''s actually responsible for. Mostly, that''s just for being a worthless, spoiled, rich drunk who got everything in life handed to him by his daddy and his daddy''s friends. But he does deserve blame for the devastation of Katrina. I have seen the video of being sitting like a dope, with his typical drugged-out, far away look on his face, as the scientists explained to him that the storm would hit hard and he needed to take immediate action to evacuate. Bush did NOTHING. Then, long long after the devastation hit, Bush did a photo op in New Orleans and claimed, "We will rebuild!" Instead, he gave away millions of dollars to Blackwater, Haliburton, and other "connected" firms, and left New Orleans in ruins!

I actually blame Cheney for most of the truly evil things going on in this country at the moment, because he knows what he''s doing. Bush is clueless.

You think I''m a "whiner". That''s simply because you don''t want to hear what I have to say. It challenges your irrational beliefs, making you uncomfortable. Too bad for you.

The world exists. Those who seek to know the truth may determine certain truths about it. But whacked out religious nutjobs don''t look for the truth, and neither do the neocon conmen, nor do the vast majority of repugs who have been swindled by the neocons'' massive con job.

[averjane]

MyIDonCBS

Why don''t you read into what the Bible really says about the "why" and "why not" of things that go on in the world and you might understand a little better. Simply read further and investigate. It will take awhile and many outbursts at God himself. Don''t just pick and choose what you read by taking things out of context either. I tell you these things because it is my duty as a Christian and your anger shows a passion even if it is contemptuous. However, you should consider yourself fortunate there is a God. Have you not heard that because He loved all of us so much, He allowed His son to die for the likes of me and you? I will share what I know and have hope for you but not everything is for us to know or understand. Our minds are like a light bulb that if given a surge of too much power, would blow; a small amount at a time will work.

[feelfree1]

draugwolf,

Re: "that border region should be sprayed repeatedly with VX nerve agent.. and dont deny that this needs to be done yesterday"

Threatening mass-murder with WMD, like VX, is a terrorist act.

You lack any standing to point to anyone other than yourself, as a terrorist.

[averjane]

Cont''d
If you really want to know, then continue to seek. Even if you do it with contempt in your heart your life can be changed. If you''re happy with your life the way it is then don''t ask such questions because you''ll never understand it and so find something else to be bitter about. Another thing you forgot to mention in your rant is what role does Satan play in all this? You have heard of him right? If you believe there is a God, then lets not forget about him. To leave him out would be like giving you half an answer; like lying, like telling you only part of the truth. He doesn''t mind though because he''s loving you and doesn''t want you to change one bit.

[susanhelit]

San Diego is very focused on being fire safe. Shake shingle roofs are simply outlawed, greenbelts are mandated, etc. But Santa Ana winds plus a dry environment, and all you need is a spark. And if those Santa Ana winds blow down a power line - there it goes. If one person flicks a cigarette but out their window - there we go. One little campfire - there we go.

[feelfree1]

MyIDonCBS,

It looks like someone went a little heavy on the Jesus-juice, and is turning to spam for relief.;-)

[myidoncbs]

Someone asked, "Why don''t you read into what the Bible really says"?

I HAVE read the WHOLE THING several times. I am quite familiar with what it says, thank you. It actually contains many truths. But it also contains stuff that has been so badly mistranslated or edited, plus apparently random junk, plus ancient mythologies cobbled together into an incoherent mess.

Several books of the Bible have actually been REMOVED, centuries ago. Those books didn''t meet with the approval of the Catholic Church.

Another BIG PROBLEM is that the Bible says Jesus took his disciples aside and taught them IN PRIVATE, secret techniques and instructions that no modern day "Christian" knows or practices. But, why bother? They don''t even practice what Jesus said in the Bible: "seek ye first the kingdom of heaven" which he said is "within you", NOT somewhere you go when you die if you "believe"! Even the word "believe" is mistranslated! As is "sin", which actually means, "to miss the mark".

Then there''s the blatantly obvious problem that people keep retranslating it, changing the words to fit what they happen to believe at the moment! You just cannot rationally think that any one particular version of the Bible is the ACTUAL WORD OF GOD, because what it says varies drastically from version to version.

It''s all too crazy. Why do you people bother to spout your mindless religious dogmas everywhere? You aren''t helping anyone!

[l8c6]

With a Blackwater fire response the gentry could send out the tax collectors to the peasant villages to orchestrate a more efficient targeted response putting the response where it needs to be. Those who are the true americans, those who earn their income by collecting dividends and interest must have the greatest response in emergent times as they have spoken, and they tell us they pay all the tax.

[l8c6]

I wonder how many porno fortunes and the treasures of evangelical mega church rulers went up in flames today?

Where is it Benny Hinn lives?

[michellem99-2009]

Some one said others are selfish..yeah..right..They are when a burn ban is in place as the land is so dry that a cigerette will start a fire..Yes lighting does cause this as well..They are told the dos and don''ts when bans are in place for every one to obey them. Is there means to get the disabled out of areas as we have no one to help when told to get out and some can''t leave their homes as they on medical devices/meds. They can''t leave with out help. I am im Seattle. Think of others who need that help to leave WHO can''t as they can''t drive themselves. we use mass trasit.

[nottellin1]

Am I the only one that thinks this is a terrorist attack. I live in LA,CA and I seem to remember some group making a threat of massive wild fires. The problem is, even if they claim that they did it, it won''t be beleived bacause we have wild fires in CA every year that sometimes behave this way (many due to weather).

[mcvett]

It''s all Bush''s fault.

LOL

.

[feelfree1]

nottellin1,

Re: "Am I the only one that thinks this is a terrorist attack."

Yup. Your blind, hate-laden paranoia is surpassed only by your stupidity for being surprised by large fire occurring in a densely populated DESERT region, fueled by well know and routine Santa Ana winds.

[gunownerdan]

Not long ago there was a brush fire right down the street from my house at a stop sign.
Someone threw a cigarette butt out of the window and it started a fire. Luckily some people who stopped had a bottle of water in their car and put it out. With much of the country in a drought it is now more important than ever to be careful with fire, especially cigarettes.
Good luck out there!

[nottellin1]

nottellin1,

Re: "Am I the only one that thinks this is a terrorist attack."

Yup. Your blind, hate-laden paranoia is surpassed only by your stupidity for being surprised by large fire occurring in a densely populated DESERT region, fueled by well know and routine Santa Ana winds.



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Posted by FeelFree1 at 03:08 PM : Oct 22, 2007

Are you really that illiterate?

[elichez1]

Sounds like a terrorist''s doing to me! I''m an equal oppertunity offender. A little fire here, a little there, what the hell. We need to ship all foreigners back where the hell they came from.

[jsilver2th]

so much for our emergency preparedness

[ukclh33]

Have you all gone stark raving mad?? Blaming Bush, claiming terrism, you guys need to be committed or get a fu(king life!!!! Do you ever think of anything else?? Maybe saying an extra prayer for the firefighters out there kicking a*s for days on end would be time better spent for you low-lifes!

[ladyjaneg]

Sounds like a terrorist''''s doing to me! I''''m an equal oppertunity offender. A little fire here, a little there, what the hell. We need to ship all foreigners back where the hell they came from.


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Posted by Elichez1 at 03:26 PM : Oct 22, 2007

Yah okay, that''s reasonable. But maybe you didn''t know that humans have been nomadic for the majority of time that we have been on this planet....and there were big travel routes....Greece to Egypt, England to China....so when you say all foreigners should go back to where they came from....who are the foreigners really,and where should they go?

[ukclh33]

Sounds like a terrorist''''s doing to me! I''''m an equal oppertunity offender. A little fire here, a little there, what the hell. We need to ship all foreigners back where the hell they came from.

Posted by Elichez1

Define foreigners? are you native american??

[charlesdjohn]

I am wondering how the Insurance Companies will get out of paying for this one! They weaseled their way out of Katrina...

[patmahweenie]

Seems like there is always some kind of disaster going on in SoCal. If it isn''t fires it''s earthquakes or mudslides or race riots. Jeez what a bunch a drama queens. I don''t know what the big fuss is over the evacuation....don''t they all have those VW campers with the big peace symbol on the side that they can all live in ?

[michellem99-2009]

I don''t know where my Dad''s family came from as it died with the grandparents and as a Maine foster child I was born in this nation.. I would guess England..Where do the non native americans go ..Yer fore bears did not send our fore faters back...

[myidoncbs]

"We need to ship all foreigners back where the hell they came from."

HA HA! We ALL came from somewhere, and we killed most of the "natives". So, sending "foreigners back where ...they came from" is just LAUGHABLE!

[cdegolier]

Actually the only people to blame for this day and ages mega fires (which are only going to get worse) are the loony environmentalist who would not allow controlled burns or the logging companies to clean out the dead trees. So now with these mega fires are actually killing the western forest because the years of accumulated kindling the environmentalist would not allow to be cleaned out. Thank You Hippy idiots!!

[ssm9451]

My prayers are with the brave fire fighters and their families!

[ukclh33]

My prayers are with the brave fire fighters and their families!
Posted by ssm9451

Mine too!!