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ЮЖНОЙ КАЛИФОРНИИ
Февраль
2006
Smoke from a wildfire driven
by Santa Ana winds drifts over downtown Los Angeles Monday, Feb. 6,
2006. A wildfire pushed by Santa Ana winds spread over 800 acres
of the Cleveland National Forest near Orange County, Calif., suburbs on Monday,
and voluntary evacuation of several hundred homes was requested, authorities
said. (AP Photo/Nick Ut)
A wildfire burns in the Cleveland National Forest Monday,
Feb. 6, 2006, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Ric Francis)
Wildfires burn in the Cleveland National
Forest on Monday evening, Feb. 6, 2006, in Anaheim, Calif. A wildfire
driven by Santa Ana winds ate through 1,200 acres of wilderness Monday
near Orange County suburbs, forcing evacuation of 1,500 homes. (AP Photo/Ric
Francis)
An Orange County firefighter sets
backfires to rob a wildfire of fuel Monday, Feb. 6, 2006, in Anaheim, Calif. A
wildfire fanned by Santa Ana winds ate through 1,200 acres of wilderness near
the outskirts of Orange County suburbs Monday, forcing evacuation of 1,500
homes. The homes, in Anaheim and the city of Orange bordering Cleveland
National Forest, were protected by fire crews and there were no reports of
damage by midafternoon, said Orange County Fire Authority spokesman Dennis
Shell. (AP Photo/Ric Francis)
An Orange County firefighter sets
backfires to rob a wildfire of fuel Monday, Feb. 6, 2006, in Anaheim,
Calif. A wildfire fanned by Santa Ana winds ate through 1,200
acres of wilderness near the outskirts of Orange County suburbs Monday, forcing
evacuation of 1,500 homes. The homes, in Anaheim and the city of Orange
bordering Cleveland National Forest, were protected by fire crews and there
were no reports of damage by midafternoon, said Orange County Fire Authority
spokesman Dennis Shell. (AP Photo/Ric Francis)
A firefighting helicopter makes a
water drop onto a 25-acre fire in the Santa Monica Mountains near
Malibu, Calif., Wednesday Feb. 8, 2006. Wildfires in Southern
California, in Malibu and Anaheim, have burned more than 7,200 acres. (AP Photo
Nick Ut)
The late-afternoon sun is barely
visible through a cloud of smoke over homes in the Anaheim Hills area of Orange
County, Calif., Tuesday afternoon, Feb. 7, 2006. Residents ordered to evacuate
more than 2,000 homes near a 3,500-acre wildfire were told they could
return to their neighborhoods late Tuesday as an army of firefighters and a
fleet of aircraft worked to keep the blaze corralled in rugged land. The fire
sent up dark plumes of smoke from the Santa Ana Mountains for a second
day, but the threat to homes eased. (AP Photo/Nick Ut)
A
helicopter dumps water on a wildfire at the Cleveland National Forest near
Silverado, Calif., Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2006. A 6,520-acre wildfire that triggered
evacuations of more than 2,000 homes in northeastern Orange County apparently
was ignited by remnants of a controlled burn in Cleveland National Forest that
escaped, a U.S. Forest Service official said Tuesday. (AP Photo/Francis
Specker)
Wind Spreads Wildfire in SoCal Forest
By
GILLIAN FLACCUS
ANAHEIM, Calif. - A Southern
California wildfire driven by Santa Ana winds ate through 1,200 acres of
wilderness Monday near Orange County suburbs, forcing evacuation of 1,500
homes.
The dwellings, in Anaheim and the city of Orange bordering Cleveland National
Forest, were protected by fire crews and there were no reports of damage by
midafternoon, said Orange County Fire Authority spokesman Dennis Shell.
Pungent smoke stained the skies brown for miles across the
Los Angeles metropolitan region.
"The ash was coming down like snow, I
had all the windows and door shut because it was just overwhelming," said
Kathie Scott, who was told by a firefighter to evacuate her Mayberry Ranch
home. She got out with two dogs but had to leave behind a cat and two guinea
pigs.
Red flag warnings for critical fire danger were posted for
much of the region, from Santa Barbara County south to the U.S.-Mexico border.
Flames burned on rugged land east of the Orange County homes
and State Route 241, which firefighters hoped would act as a firebreak. Spot
fires occurred beyond the tollway, but were kept small.
"We don't want it to get across there. If it does it's
within a half a mile of homes," said Stephen Miller, another county fire
spokesman.
Hundreds of firefighters were brought in, along with
aircraft to make retardant and water drops. Gusts of dry wind hit 60 mph in the
morning, with sustained winds of about 30 mph, but they moderated in the
afternoon, Miller said.
The cause of the fire had not been
determined.
The Santa Ana winds, which reduce humidity and dry out
vegetation, have often played a role in disastrous wildfires. In 2003,
wind-driven wildfires destroyed more than 3,600 homes and killed 22 people in
Southern California.
A service of the Associated Press(AP)