Saturday, November 15, 2008

Fire in California: Firefighting aircraft is grounded in Southern California

Fire in California

quote from http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/10/14/winds-ease-in-fire-stricken-california/index.html?hp

As an eerie orange moon set over Ventura, Calif., three glowing bands of fire continued to burn in the smoky sunrise in Los Angeles County. But firefighters started their day encouraged that the first major Santa Ana winds of the season had calmed in some areas.

Officials continue to fight the three blazes — the Marek Fire, Porter Ranch and San Bernardino — from both the ground and the air. Mark Savage, a Los Angeles County Fire captain told KABC-TV: “Even without high winds, we still have a lot of work to do.”

Channel 7 in Los Angeles has live web streaming with updates.

The winds, according to local reports, have slowed to about 15 to 20 miles an hour, though there were still gusts in canyons of up to 45 miles per hour. On Monday, stronger gusts stoked the fires that scorched more than 12,000 acres and killed two people.

Although the forecast does not show the winds intensifying, Santa Ana winds, officials warned, are unpredictable. Evacuees were still not allowed back into their homes as of 6:30 a.m. in the affected areas.

The National Weather Service kept its high-wind advisory but only through noon Pacific time for San Bernardino and Riverside County Valleys.