Winds threatening to spread giant wildfire
State of emergency declared in two counties south of Los Angeles
LAKE ELSINORE, CALIF.— More than 1,000 firefighters battled Friday to keep a growing Southern California forest fire feeding on dry brush and trees from reaching foothill neighbourhoods a day after flames roared to new ferocity and came within yards of homes.
Gov. Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency for Orange and Riverside counties as the fire carved its way along ridges in the Cleveland National Forest.
Some hillsides were allowed to burn under the watchful eyes of firefighters — to reduce fuel and make it harder for flames to jump roadways into communities if winds pick up again.
Aircraft dropped retardant as homeowners sprayed their houses with water from garden hoses while the blaze south of Los Angeles gained renewed strength Thursday evening, propelled by 30-km/h gusts.
Hundreds more firefighters joined the effort, bringing the total to 1,200. The fire has chewed through 72 square kilometres of dense chaparral and is only 5 per cent contained.
It’s one of nearly 20 blazes across the state. Officials reported progress in the fight against two major Northern California wildfires — one called the Mendocino Complex Fire that is the largest in state history — burning more than 160 kilometres north of Sacramento.
Cleveland National Forest officials tweeted that the Southern California fire is growing as fast as crews can build containment lines.
“We continue to actively engage, but cannot get ahead of the fire,” the statement said.
Teresita Reyes was among some 20,000 people under evacuation orders, saying she was attending a wedding Wednesday when she received the order to evacuate. The 51year-old state health inspector congratulated the couple and left quietly to head back to her house in the city of Lake Elsinore and grab important documents.
Since then, Reyes and her husband have been staying at a hotel with a faulty air conditioner while their three dogs and cat are holed up at the family’s plumbing business.
“It is nerve-wracking and unreal,” she said. “We were on pins and needles for a little while there because it got real close.”
Brown’s proclamation late Thursday ordered state agencies to help local governments.
Eighty kilometres west of the fire, residents in the city of Long Beach awoke to ash on their cars and in their yards.
A resident of the small community of Holy Jim Canyon in the forest was scheduled for a court hearing Friday on charges that he deliberately set the fire.
Forrest Clark, 51, is charged with arson and other crimes and could face life in prison if convicted.
Clark appeared in court via a video feed from jail and made several outbursts, claiming that his life was being threatened.
A court commissioner on Friday postponed Clark’s arraignment until Aug. 17.
Clark is a resident of the canyon where the fire was sparked Monday.
A fire official has said Clark sent threatening emails, including one that said, “this place will burn.”