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Hot, dry winds fan southern California wildfire
San Francisco, Oct 26: A huge wildfire fanned by hot, dry winds burned out of control in the San Bernardino National Forest in southern California, forcing authorities to order more evacuations.
San Francisco, Oct 26: A huge wildfire fanned by hot, dry
winds burned out of control in the San Bernardino National Forest in
southern California, forcing authorities to order more evacuations.
Residents in the town of Alta Loma were yesterday ordered to
leave their homes as the blaze, named the grand prix fire, continued
to roar through dry heavy brush in the foothills about 96 km east of
Los Angeles.
Evacuations were ordered earlier in the community of Lytle Creek and near Fontana and Rancho Cucamonga, forcing thousands of people to leave their homes.
A second fire broke out yesterday in a canyon northeast of the city of San Bernardino, burning down three homes and threatening hundreds more in a residential area near a state university.
The blaze, named the old fire because it erupted in old Waterman Canyon at midmorning, had consumed more than 1,215 hectares, and evacuations were underway, said Carol Beckley, spokeswoman for the US Forest Service. The cause was unknown.
High winds prevented air tankers and helicopters from flying into the canyon to drop water on the fire, which forced the closure of two state highways in the area.
''We expect a very tough fight today,'' said Georgia Smith, fire spokeswoman for the San Bernardino National Forest. ''The Santa Ana winds are very erratic and shifting, and they are expected to be very strong in the canyons.''
The Grand Prix Fire, which broke out Tuesday and is being investigated as a possible arson, has been whipped by the Santa Ana winds that blow through southern California in the autumn.
The blaze has burned through 5,557 hectares and destroyed six homes and a US Forest Service helicopter on the ground. No injuries have been reported.
The fire, fueled by dense old-growth trees and brush, sent thick black and orange smoke drifting across southern California, choking nearby towns with ash.
The east-west interstate 210 freeway was shut down early Saturday, but interstate 15, the major freeway linking southern California and Las Vegas, was open.
Officials said more than 2,000 firefighters from California and other states were battling the blaze and it was 21 percent contained.
The California independent system operator, the agency that manages most of the state's power grid, has called on southern Californians to conserve electricity in case the fire knocks out one of the major power lines in the area.
Bureau Report
Evacuations were ordered earlier in the community of Lytle Creek and near Fontana and Rancho Cucamonga, forcing thousands of people to leave their homes.
A second fire broke out yesterday in a canyon northeast of the city of San Bernardino, burning down three homes and threatening hundreds more in a residential area near a state university.
The blaze, named the old fire because it erupted in old Waterman Canyon at midmorning, had consumed more than 1,215 hectares, and evacuations were underway, said Carol Beckley, spokeswoman for the US Forest Service. The cause was unknown.
High winds prevented air tankers and helicopters from flying into the canyon to drop water on the fire, which forced the closure of two state highways in the area.
''We expect a very tough fight today,'' said Georgia Smith, fire spokeswoman for the San Bernardino National Forest. ''The Santa Ana winds are very erratic and shifting, and they are expected to be very strong in the canyons.''
The Grand Prix Fire, which broke out Tuesday and is being investigated as a possible arson, has been whipped by the Santa Ana winds that blow through southern California in the autumn.
The blaze has burned through 5,557 hectares and destroyed six homes and a US Forest Service helicopter on the ground. No injuries have been reported.
The fire, fueled by dense old-growth trees and brush, sent thick black and orange smoke drifting across southern California, choking nearby towns with ash.
The east-west interstate 210 freeway was shut down early Saturday, but interstate 15, the major freeway linking southern California and Las Vegas, was open.
Officials said more than 2,000 firefighters from California and other states were battling the blaze and it was 21 percent contained.
The California independent system operator, the agency that manages most of the state's power grid, has called on southern Californians to conserve electricity in case the fire knocks out one of the major power lines in the area.
Bureau Report