Raging Wildfires Reduce Scores of California Homes to Ashes
Hundreds of Thousands Forced to Flee
Tuesday, October 23, 2007 01:42 PDT

SAN DIEGO -- Wildfires blown by fierce desert winds Monday reduced
hundreds of Southern California homes to ashes, forced hundreds of thousands
of people to flee and laid a hellish, spidery pattern of luminous orange
over the drought-stricken region.

Firefighters described desperate conditions that were sure to get worse in
the days ahead, with hotter temperatures and high winds forecast for
Tuesday. At least 16 firefighters and 25 others were reported injured since
the blazes began Sunday, and one person was killed.

At least 655 homes burned _ about 130 in one mountain area alone _ and 168
businesses and other structures were destroyed. Thousands of other buildings
were threatened by more than a dozen blazes covering at least 240,000 acres,
the equivalent of 374 square miles.

Early Tuesday, President Bush declared an emergency for the seven-county
region, speeding federal disaster relief.

Soon after nightfall Monday, fire officials announced that 500 homes and 100
commercial properties had been destroyed by a fire in northern San Diego
County that exploded to 145,000 acres, said Roxanne Provaznik, a spokeswoman
for the California Department of Forestry. The fire injured seven
firefighters and one civilian, and was spreading unchecked.

A pair of wildfires consumed 133 homes in the Lake Arrowhead mountain resort
area in the San Bernardino National Forest, authorities said. Hundreds of
homes were lost in the same community four years ago.

Firefighters had their work cut out for them as winds gusting to 70 mph
scattered embers onto dry brush, spawning spot fires. California officials
pleaded for help from fire departments in other states.

"A lot of people are going to lose their homes today," San Diego Fire Capt.
Lisa Blake predicted earlier.

At least 14 fires were burning in Southern California, said Patti Roberts, a
spokeswoman for the Governor's Office of Emergency Services.

From San Diego to Malibu, more than 150 miles up the coast, at least 265,000
people were warned to leave their homes. More than 250,000 were told to flee
in San Diego County alone.

"It's probably closer to 300,000," said San Diego County Supervisor Ron
Roberts.

Hundreds of patients were moved by school bus and ambulance from hospitals
and nursing homes.

A 1,049-inmate jail in Orange County was evacuated because of heavy smoke.
The prisoners were bused to other lockups.

In San Diego County, where at least four fires burned, more than 200,000
reverse 911 calls - calls from county officials to residents - alerted
residents to evacuations, said County Supervisor Roberts.

About 10,000 of them ended up at Qualcomm Stadium, home to the NFL's
Chargers, where thousands of people huddled in eerie silence during the day
Monday, staring at muted TV news reports of the wildfires. A lone
concession stand served coffee and doughnuts.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger arrived at Qualcomm later Monday.

The governor said the federal government had pledged "everything we need."

"They have responded much more quickly than what we've heard in the past,"
he said.

Asked how the disaster would unfold in coming days, the governor said, "No
one knows. We are relying very much on the weather."

The Federal Emergency Management Agency was sending cots, blankets and other
supplies, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said in a telephone
interview.

The sprawling Del Mar Fairgrounds on the coast was also turned into an
evacuation center, along with high schools and senior centers. Marine
officials at Camp Pendleton opened their base to residents.

At least one of the fires, in Orange County, was believed to have been set.
Another was set by students dismissed from classes in San Ysidro on the
Mexican border.

A blaze threatening the homes of the rich and famous in Malibu might have
been caused by downed power lines, authorities said.

Another blaze was started by a car fire. Flying embers started new fires at
every turn. One of the San Diego fires was burning so fast that authorities
did not have an accurate count of how many homes had been destroyed.

"It was nuclear winter. It was like Armageddon. It looked like the end of
the world," Mitch Mendler, a San Diego firefighter, said as he and his crew
stopped at a shopping center parking lot to refill their water truck from a
hydrant near a restaurant. Asked how many homes had burned, he said, "I lost
count."

Parts of seven California counties were ablaze. By nightfall, embers had
ignited spot fires in ultrawealthy Rancho Santa Fe, a suburb north of San
Diego. The fires burned in lemon orchards, their smoke choking the air
around gated mansions.

Firefighters complained that their efforts to stop the flames were delayed
when they were confronted by people who refused to leave their homes.

"They didn't evacuate at all, or delayed until it was too late," said Bill
Metcalf, a fire boss. "And those folks who are making those decisions are
actually stripping fire resources."

As flames, thick smoke and choking ash filled the air around San Diego
County's Lake Hodges, Stan Smith ignored orders to evacuate and stayed
behind to help rescue the horses of his neighbor Ken Morris.

"It's hard to leave all your belongings and take off, and the bad thing is
you can't get back in once you leave," Smith said.

"I heard the cops come by, and I just ducked," Morris said.

Besides, said Smith, "Lots of time the fire doesn't ever come. It's come
really close before. I've seen it so bad you couldn't even hear yourself
talk over the flames and ash blowing everywhere."

Black smoke blanketed much of northern San Diego and nearby suburbs as
flames hopscotched around homes in Rancho Bernardo, a community with many
elderly people, destroying one of every 10 homes on one busy street.

Highways, canals and other features normally act as firebreaks. But the
towering flames and flying embers rendered them useless this time.

Dozens of motorists gathered on an Interstate 15 overpass in San Diego to
watch flames race up a hillside and engulf at least a half-dozen homes.
Witnesses said they watched flames jump west across the 10-lane freeway.

"The flames were like 100 feet high and it moved up the hill in seconds. It
was at the bottom, it was in the middle, and then it was at the top," said
Steve Jarrett, who helped a friend evacuate his home in nearby Escondido.

Fire near the San Diego Wild Animal Park led authorities to move condors, a
cheetah, snakes and other animals to the fire-resistant veterinary hospital
on the grounds of the park. The large animals, such as elephants, rhinos and
antelope, were left in irrigated enclosures.

The world-famous San Diego Zoo was not immediately threatened.

Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency in the seven affected counties,
opening the way for government aid. He also made 1,500 California National
Guardsmen available, and San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders said the troops' main
focus would be to prevent looting and help with evacuations.

"Its a tragic time for California," the governor said in Malibu, where a
church, homes and a mansion resembling a medieval castle were destroyed over
the weekend.

White House deputy press secretary Scott Stanzel said in an e-mail that
President Bush called Schwarzenegger to make sure the state is getting the
help it needs.

One person died in one of the fires near San Diego. More than a dozen people
were hospitalized with burns and smoke inhalation, including four
firefighters, three of whom were listed in critical condition, officials
said. Some of the injured were hikers, while others may be illegal
immigrants.

Among the evacuees were members of a National Guard unit that had to flee
its barracks, officials said.

Flames forced the evacuation of the San Diego community of Ramona, which has
a population of about 36,000.

Christine Baird, 42, was ordered to evacuate her apartment in the Rancho
Bernardo area at 05:30. She moved to California from Canada earlier this
year.

"Instead of snow we had ash all over the car," she said. "This is all new
for me. We've got no family in the area, so there's really nowhere else to
go."