California Fires Out of Control as More Than 500,000 Flee
LOS ANGELES, Oct. 23 — Punishing winds and unstable thermal conditions — married with strained firefighting resources — stymied efforts Tuesday to contain a slew of wildfires burning for a third day across Southern California.
While firefighters late Tuesday began to get the upper hand on some fires in Los Angeles county, officials in San Diego were left worried that the fires could march toward more populated areas along the Pacific Ocean.
“As long as the east wind continues to blow, that is the direction things are going,” said Roxanne Provaznik, spokeswoman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. “There are a lot of homes on that coastal community, so there is so much potential injury.”
By Tuesday, more than 400 square miles in seven counties had been consumed by some 16 fires, flames fueled by high desert winds and hot temperatures that remained largely impervious to air attacks, garden hoses, fire retardant or prayers for relief.
The authorities said the blazes, raging from the Simi Valley northwest of Los Angeles to the Mexican border, were responsible for two deaths, and possibly five others. At least 25 firefighters and civilians were reported to have suffered burns.
By late Tuesday, the fires had consumed well over 1,000 homes and commercial structures, with the authorities reporting that 68,500 homes remained threatened. At least 500,000 people were estimated to have evacuated and thousands more had been ordered to move, making the evacuation effort roughly half the size of that from the New Orleans area after Hurricane Katrina. The authorities said firefighters were overwhelmed as new blazes sparked and existing ones thrashed in new directions, impeding efforts to focus energy and resources. By midday, a new fire began in San Diego County even as fires elsewhere became partially contained.
President Bush, responding to entreaties from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, declared a state of emergency in California, paving the way for federal disaster aid to arrive, and said he would survey the state on Thursday.
While Mr. Schwarzenegger said during a news conference Tuesday that he was “happy” with the number of firefighters working the blazes, officials said that they were stretched thin and that a lack of resources was as much a burden as the temperatures and winds.
“Our resources are low,” Ms. Provaznik said in a telephone interview from San Diego. “Our firefighters are stretched out because of the number of fires around the state.”
Mr. Bush, mindful of the embarrassment his administration suffered after the Gulf Coast disaster two years ago, dispatched officials from the Department of Homeland Security to assess the damage. Federal and local fire teams from Nevada, Oregon and Wyoming joined the fight, and the governor called up 1,500 National Guard members.
The governor expanded his request to Mr. Bush on Tuesday afternoon, asking him to raise his declaration to “major disaster,” which would affect how the state is reimbursed later. The governor estimated that $75 million in federal aid would be needed.
Tuesday evening, Gov. Schwarzenegger said he had ordered state prisons to deploy their fire fighting muscle — including six fire engines and 18 fire captains — to assist in fire fighting. The state’s corrections department also has more than 2,640 trained inmate firefighters actively battling the southern California wildfires today after being deployed by Mr. Schwarzenegger.
Swift emergency response efforts, most likely matched by memories of the devastating fires here in 2003, may have contributed to the relatively low death toll.
“These are big fires, tragic, and the impact of these things will last a long time,” said Jodi Traversaro, spokeswoman for the state’s Office of Emergency Services. “I think Katrina taught us a whole lot.”
Two fires in Los Angeles County were largely contained Tuesday night. “This is a good news story," Lee Baca, the Los Angeles County sheriff, said at a news conference. But the rest of the state was less lucky.
San Diego County remained the worst of the burning regions, with at least 1,250 homes and 102 buildings destroyed and half a million people, according to local officials, displaced. The estimates of the number of people displaced, however, varied wildly between state and local officials. Thousands of evacuees headed for Qualcomm, the 60,000-seat home of the San Diego Chargers as others stuffed into area hotels.
A shift in the prevailing winds in the area on Tuesday, from the fierce but predictable Santa Ana winds, to more volatile western ones, also plagued firefighters.
But the director of San Diego County’s Office of Emergency Services, Ron Lane, said at a news conference Tuesday evening that he thought the corner had been turned and that more favorable weather forecast would allow firefighters to make real headway. “The worst is behind us,” Mr. Lane said.
For all the dislocation and destruction, the five deaths in San Diego County that local officials attributed directly or indirectly to the fires as of Tuesday afternoon also underscored how difficult it is to classify and describe the real dimensions of a disaster that has, at least so far, mainly been measured in property loss, charred landscape and disrupted life.
While firefighters late Tuesday began to get the upper hand on some fires in Los Angeles county, officials in San Diego were left worried that the fires could march toward more populated areas along the Pacific Ocean.
“As long as the east wind continues to blow, that is the direction things are going,” said Roxanne Provaznik, spokeswoman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. “There are a lot of homes on that coastal community, so there is so much potential injury.”
By Tuesday, more than 400 square miles in seven counties had been consumed by some 16 fires, flames fueled by high desert winds and hot temperatures that remained largely impervious to air attacks, garden hoses, fire retardant or prayers for relief.
The authorities said the blazes, raging from the Simi Valley northwest of Los Angeles to the Mexican border, were responsible for two deaths, and possibly five others. At least 25 firefighters and civilians were reported to have suffered burns.
By late Tuesday, the fires had consumed well over 1,000 homes and commercial structures, with the authorities reporting that 68,500 homes remained threatened. At least 500,000 people were estimated to have evacuated and thousands more had been ordered to move, making the evacuation effort roughly half the size of that from the New Orleans area after Hurricane Katrina. The authorities said firefighters were overwhelmed as new blazes sparked and existing ones thrashed in new directions, impeding efforts to focus energy and resources. By midday, a new fire began in San Diego County even as fires elsewhere became partially contained.
President Bush, responding to entreaties from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, declared a state of emergency in California, paving the way for federal disaster aid to arrive, and said he would survey the state on Thursday.
While Mr. Schwarzenegger said during a news conference Tuesday that he was “happy” with the number of firefighters working the blazes, officials said that they were stretched thin and that a lack of resources was as much a burden as the temperatures and winds.
“Our resources are low,” Ms. Provaznik said in a telephone interview from San Diego. “Our firefighters are stretched out because of the number of fires around the state.”
Mr. Bush, mindful of the embarrassment his administration suffered after the Gulf Coast disaster two years ago, dispatched officials from the Department of Homeland Security to assess the damage. Federal and local fire teams from Nevada, Oregon and Wyoming joined the fight, and the governor called up 1,500 National Guard members.
The governor expanded his request to Mr. Bush on Tuesday afternoon, asking him to raise his declaration to “major disaster,” which would affect how the state is reimbursed later. The governor estimated that $75 million in federal aid would be needed.
Tuesday evening, Gov. Schwarzenegger said he had ordered state prisons to deploy their fire fighting muscle — including six fire engines and 18 fire captains — to assist in fire fighting. The state’s corrections department also has more than 2,640 trained inmate firefighters actively battling the southern California wildfires today after being deployed by Mr. Schwarzenegger.
Swift emergency response efforts, most likely matched by memories of the devastating fires here in 2003, may have contributed to the relatively low death toll.
“These are big fires, tragic, and the impact of these things will last a long time,” said Jodi Traversaro, spokeswoman for the state’s Office of Emergency Services. “I think Katrina taught us a whole lot.”
Two fires in Los Angeles County were largely contained Tuesday night. “This is a good news story," Lee Baca, the Los Angeles County sheriff, said at a news conference. But the rest of the state was less lucky.
San Diego County remained the worst of the burning regions, with at least 1,250 homes and 102 buildings destroyed and half a million people, according to local officials, displaced. The estimates of the number of people displaced, however, varied wildly between state and local officials. Thousands of evacuees headed for Qualcomm, the 60,000-seat home of the San Diego Chargers as others stuffed into area hotels.
A shift in the prevailing winds in the area on Tuesday, from the fierce but predictable Santa Ana winds, to more volatile western ones, also plagued firefighters.
But the director of San Diego County’s Office of Emergency Services, Ron Lane, said at a news conference Tuesday evening that he thought the corner had been turned and that more favorable weather forecast would allow firefighters to make real headway. “The worst is behind us,” Mr. Lane said.
