California wildfires

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Cali Wildfire Grows, Thousands Evacuate

Campers flee as fire expands by 500 acres

(Newser) - A wildfire in the Angeles National Forest that forced the evacuation of thousands of visitors has grown another 500 acres and additional firefighting resources have been requested. The fire, which broke out near a campground yesterday, grew overnight to about 4,100 acres, or roughly 6 square miles, said US...

Forest Service Axes 30-Year Ban on Night Flights

Rule blamed in disastrous 2009 Station fire

(Newser) - California's disastrous 2009 Station fire made wildfire authorities rethink their approach to battling blazes at night—and now they're uplifting a longstanding rule. For the first time in about three decades, the US Forest Service will allow night flights to combat flames, the Los Angeles Times reports. "...

Wildfires Raging Through 14 States

And weather conditions not expected to improve soon

(Newser) - Fourteen states west of the Mississippi are burning, with 70 large fires destroying homes and forcing many to evacuate. Hot, dry, windy weather in the western US is fueling the flames and is expected to continue into next week. Details from CNN :
  • The Taylor Bridge Fire in Washington state has
...

Yosemite Fire Scorches 5K Acres

Skies still blue over park despite huge blaze

(Newser) - After five days of hard work, firefighters are making good progress against a wildfire raging near Yosemite National Park. The fire—started when a propane tank on a motor home traveling on one the main roads into the park exploded—has burned more than 5,000 acres and forced the...

Wildfire Suspect Charged in Heart Attack 'Murders'

Unusual case links arson to deaths

(Newser) - California officials have taken the unusual step of charging a wildfire arson suspect with murder in the death of 5 people who suffered heart attacks escaping the flames. Prosecutors intend to prove the stress of the fire caused the deaths in the massive 2003 San Bernardino blaze. The groundbreaking case...

California: Too Broke for More Fires

At least not without major help from Uncle Sam

(Newser) - California’s wildfires haven’t just destroyed property and forestland, they’ve also scorched the state’s beleaguered budget, Time reports. Arnold Schwarzenegger didn't lay a finger on the state's forestry budget of $518 million, and more than doubled the state’s emergency fund for fighting wildfires this year to...

Cost of Fighting Wildfire Tops $37M

(Newser) - The fight to contain the deadly Los Angeles-area Station fire has so far cost more than $37 million, the LA Times reports, and that’s not counting property damage or the cost to the environment. The blaze is still burning through the San Gabriel Wilderness, but it’s 42% contained,...

Lab Tests Substance in LA Wildfire Probe

Station fire, 42% contained, chars 148K acres

(Newser) - Investigators of a deadly Los Angeles wildfire are having a substance from the scene tested to confirm whether the blaze was man-made. “There was material that didn't belong there," a source tells the Los Angeles Times. "It was clear evidence that the fire was intentionally set....

LA Fire Began as Arson: Feds

With blaze having killed 2 firefighters, sheriff begins homicide investigation

(Newser) - The wildfire that has burned 144,000 acres north of Los Angeles was set by arsonists, the US Forest Service said this afternoon. With the blaze having killed two firefighters, authorities are now treating the matter as homicide, KTLA-TV reports, and the LA County Sheriff’s Department has begun an...

Feds Failed to Clear Brush in LA Wildfire Area

(Newser) - Federal authorities failed to follow through on plans earlier this year to burn away highly flammable brush in a forest on the edge of Los Angeles to avoid the very kind of wildfire now raging there. Months before the blaze erupted, the US Forest Service obtained permits to burn away...

Chimps, Lions Saved From Calif. Inferno

Volunteers help evacuate exotic animals from threatened Wildlife Waystation

(Newser) - Volunteers leaped to the rescue yesterday as the gigantic Station fire approached a home for exotic animals north of Los Angeles. Rescuers drove trucks, horse trailers, and an 18-wheeler Budweiser truck to the Wildlife Waystation to help evacuate its tigers, lions, bears, ostriches and other animals to the Los Angeles...

LA Fire Now 22% Contained
 LA Fire Now 22% Contained 
Sep 1, 2009 10:22 PM CDT

LA Fire Now 22% Contained

(Newser) - The Station fire raging near Los Angeles is 22% contained tonight, authorities tell the Times—though they caution that if the weather turns uncooperative again the blaze could worsen. Some evacuation orders were lifted. The Mount Wilson observatory and a nest of communication towers nearby were still threatened, however, and...

LA's 'Very Angry Fire' Hits 105K Acres
 LA's 'Very Angry Fire' 
 Hits 105K Acres 
UPDATED
Aug 31, 2009 9:44 PM CDT

LA's 'Very Angry Fire' Hits 105K Acres

Blaze claims 74 structures; officials not optimistic until weather changes

(Newser) - The so-called Station wildfire in Los Angeles County has now burned 105,000 acres, authorities say tonight, and has claimed 74 structures. “The fire is headed just about anywhere it wants to,” one official told the Times as gusty afternoon winds fanned the blaze, which is threatening the...

LA Wildfire Strands Evacuation Holdouts

(Newser) - The so-called Station Fire is closing in on Los Angeles residents who refused to evacuate with their neighbors over the weekend and are now trapped and in danger, KTLA reports. Five people are stranded in a canyon, according to the AP. "Those people were told to get out two...

Calif. Wildfire Doubles Size to 85K Acres

10K evacuated as soot covers parts of Los Angeles

(Newser) - A southern California wildfire almost doubled in size overnight, reaching a whopping 85,760 acres, NBC Los Angeles reports, calling the speed of the fire’s spread “staggering.” A blanket of soot covers parts of the city as locals are warned to stay indoors, and heavy winds are...

2 Firefighters Killed in Calif. Blaze

Pair drives off road as flames consume national forest

(Newser) - Two California firefighters drove off a treacherous road to their death as they helped battle a 43,000-acre inferno in the Angeles National Forest, reports the Los Angeles Times. More than 2,800 firefighters, 12 helicopters and eight air tankers have converged on the area where the blaze now threatens...

'Treacherous' Calif. Blaze Threatens Town

Official cites 'perfect storm of fuels, weather, and topography'

(Newser) - A growing California wildfire that has already scorched 35,000 acres and burned three people is bearing down on a small mountain community, the Los Angeles Times reports. Driven toward Acton, Calif., by wind and triple-digit heat, the blaze is "treacherous," said one fire chief. Firefighters plan “...

Calif. Pot Fire a Symptom of Drug Farm Epidemic

(Newser) - The La Brea fire that’s scorched 90,000 acres of California is the most visible sign yet of the glut of Mexican-run drug farms lurking in the state’s forests, the LA Times reports. Authorities are all but certain the fire was started by drug traffickers at a large,...

Illegal Drug Farm Started Calif. Wildfire: Officials

(Newser) - An illegal marijuana farm is responsible for a blaze that has charred more than 75,000 acres in Santa Barbara County, Calif., the Los Angeles Times reports. Authorities say a Mexican drug organization started the fire in the cooking area of a pot farm, and those behind it are likely...

Wildfire Scorches Santa Cruz
 Wildfire Scorches Santa Cruz 
Aug 15, 2009 6:16 AM CDT

Wildfire Scorches Santa Cruz

(Newser) - The first major California wildfire of the season has consumed over 5,000 acres in Santa Cruz County and won't be fully contained for a week, the San Jose Mercury News reports. Over a thousand firefighters are battling the blaze in rugged terrain that hadn't had a major fire in...

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