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LOS ANGELES: Exhausted firefighters in California Monday struggled
to contain a spate of raging wildfires that have been burning for
more than a week and now threaten the tourist attraction of Big Sur.
The blazes were only three percent contained by
Sunday in the expansive Los Padres National Forest, and sections of
the famous Highway 1 coastal road linking San Francisco to Los
Angeles remained closed due to unsafe conditions.
Weather forecasters anticipated no relief in the
coming days, with dry weather expected to continue through the week,
and peak fire season just ahead in July and August.
US President George W. Bush declared a state of
emergency for the entire state on Saturday and ordered federal aid
to help authorities battle more than 1,400 wildfires burning out of
control.
In northern California alone, the blazes have
devoured 1,400 square kilometers (346,000 acres) according to the
state fire service Calfire, and have begun to close in on Big Sur,
around 200 kilometers (125 miles south) of San Francisco.
Some 250 homes north of Big Sur, a popular
hiking and camping location, were advised to evacuate as
firefighters concentrated their efforts on the northern fires, which
were sparked on June 21 by lightning strikes in the dry, hot
wilderness.
At least 18,600 people, including firefighters
and soldiers, have deployed to attempt to put out the flames,
Calfire said. Some 1,400 firetrucks and around 100 helicopters have
backed the effort.
No one has been reported killed by these fires,
which have destroyed 29 homes, one business and 21 other buildings
and raised concern over poor air quality.
“We’re going to have a long fire season
because of the lack of rain and dry conditions throughout the
state,” Greg Renick, a spokesman for the California Office of
Emergency Services, told The Los Angeles Times.
He said more than 7,500 homes remained
threatened, but that firefighters had made some progress.
Jim Smith, a spokesman for the Bay Area Air
Quality Management District, told The San Francisco Chronicle that
air quality was improving.
“The air quality is becoming gradually better
each day,” he said.
“We’ve had a good, strong ocean breeze, and
that is clearing the particulates out of certain areas. In other
areas that are still smoky, it’s keeping the particulates at a
lower level.”
California is frequently hit by scorching
wildfires due to its dry climate, Santa Ana winds and recent housing
booms which have seen housing spread rapidly into rural and densely
forested areas.
-- AFP
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