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DIAMOND BAR, Calif. — A cluster of brush fires erupted along the fringes of suburban neighborhoods in eastern Los Angeles County on Tuesday. Helicopters and SuperScooper airplanes roared low over homes to drop loads of water on the flames in hilly terrain just outside back yards. Lines of widely separated flame moved across rolling grasslands. Weather appeared to be on firefighters' side, with little wind evident. County Fire Inspector Steve Zermeno said reports of five to eight separate fires near State Route 60 came in about 11:45. The area is about 25 miles east of downtown Los Angeles. About 150...

LAKE VIEW TERRACE, Calif. (KABC) -- It was an emotional tribute for the 1,200 to 1,500 firefighters that gathered early Friday morning to say their personal goodbyes to the two firefighters killed in the Station Fire. Capt. Ted Hall and firefighters Arnie Quinones both died Sunday afternoon when their vehicle went over the side of a mountain. ..."It was just important to bring closure," said Paul Lowenthal from the Santa Rosa Fire Department. "It's not only a family within your own station. It's a family across the state, across the country, so we all look out for one another, and...

The so-called Station Fire, which now covers more than 120,000 Southern California acres and is burning largely uncontained, continues to threaten the century-old Mount Wilson Observatory, home to astronomer Edwin Hubble at the time he made his landmark observations of the universe's expansion. The observatory is currently unmanned due to the fire threat and the attending smoke, but a webcam atop Mount Wilson's 150-foot solar tower has provided observatory managers and concerned observers with a view from the scene. At 12:55 p.m. (Eastern Daylight Time) the camera showed a great deal of smoke but no flames. ...According to the Los...

LOS ANGELES – A U.S. Forest Service official says the huge wildfire burning in the mountains north of Los Angeles was human-caused. Deputy incident commander Carlton Joseph said Wednesday that it's not known specifically how it was started. Investigators will be trying to determine whether it was accidental or arson. Carlton says investigators have leads that brought them to the conclusion but he will not give any further information. Carlton notes that the options were lightning or a human cause and lightning has been ruled out.

Cooler temperatures Tuesday could help firefighters slow down a fast-moving, deadly wildfire that has charred more than 105,000 acres in Southern California. ... The fire, which has sent thick smoke spiraling as much as 20,000 feet into the air, is creating its own wind patterns, officials said. As a result, it has become unpredictable. ... Triple-digit temperatures combined with low humidity helped the Station Fire more than double in size on Monday from at least 40,000 acres to more than 100,000 acres.

AUBURN, Calif. -- A fast-moving wildfire burned dozens of homes and scorched hundreds of acres Sunday afternoon in Placer County, prompting Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to declare a state of emergency. The fire started near Highway 49 and Bell Road in north Auburn at about 2:20 p.m. (map). It destroyed at least 60 structures, many of them homes in the North Park and South Park subdivisions, and the blaze burned about 275 acres overall. "It's absolute devastation. My sister's house is up there, and we think it's the only one standing," resident Jody said. "We weren't able to get back into...

The fire burning in Angeles National Forest is approaching the historic solar observatory and television transmission towers atop Mt. Wilson, according to Los Angeles County fire officials. The communications towers house transmitters for every major television station in Los Angeles. “We expect it to get there in the next two to four hours,” said county fire Capt. Mark Savage. Crews were clearing brush around the structures, but fire officials were not sure if they could leave personnel on the mountain to fight the flames because of the danger and limited escape routes. The fire is less than two miles away.

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 26 (UPI) -- Smoke filled the skies over the Los Angeles Basin Wednesday as a quick-moving wildfire expanded to 750 acres in the mountains north of the city, officials said. With high temperatures and dry winds fueling the flames, firefighters said just 10 percent of the fire was contained by morning. The National Weather Service said temperatures were expected to reach triple digits in the valley, the Los Angeles Times reported Campgrounds in the Angeles National Forest were evacuated Tuesday after a brush fire broke out near the Morris Dam north of Azusa in late afternoon. About...

ATHENS (Reuters) - Wildfires that tore through suburbs of Athens and forced thousands of people to flee their homes were contained on Tuesday as the government's handling of the disaster became an election issue. Likely to face voters early next year, the conservative government said very strong winds had made it difficult to fight fires in east Attica where swathes of forest and more than 150 homes were destroyed. "If what we experienced in Attica is the best this government can do, then it is obvious we must urgently replace it," the liberal daily Ethnos said in its main editorial....

PALMER: Destructive thieves take everything that's not nailed down and then some at headquarters. Daniel Skriloff, an Alaska wildfire fighter, had just come off the line, battling the oppressive heat and smoke of the 12,000-acre Hardluck Creek blaze near Fairbanks, when he got the bad news. Back at the Palmer-based headquarters for the Pioneer Peak Hotshots, thieves -- as part of a storm of theft and destruction -- broke into and stole his Subaru Legacy from the gated parking lot. "It sucks," said the third-year firefighter, who was back in Palmer dealing with insurance forms on Tuesday. "You name it,...

LOS ANGELES -- David Gerboth is a captain in the San Diego Fire Department, but he spent most of last summer crisscrossing California putting out wildfires. There were the 16 days battling a fire in Hayfork, 720 miles to the north. Then he spent 21 days fighting other blazes that burned 86,500 acres. As California's wildfires consume more land each year, the state is increasingly relying on firefighters like Mr. Gerboth. Under state mutual-aid agreements, he and thousands of other local firefighters are organized into teams that can be quickly dispatched to fight a fire in a neighboring county --...

A California wildfire forced the evacuation of more than 2,000 people near the surfing town of Santa Cruz, emptying wineries and rustic homes on Friday. Billowing white smoke, punctuated by orange flames, covered rolling hills in television footage of the coastal mountain fire about 80 miles south of San Francisco.

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – Powerful winds during a night in which "all hell broke loose" have pushed a raging wildfire to the doorstep of this wealthy coastal city, threatening to destroy dozens more homes and leading to the evacuation of more than 20,000 people. Firefighters were putting out roof fires Friday as gusts drove the flames down from the steep canyons above Santa Barbara and started burning homes in the residential flatlands. Once tame, the fire front now stretches for five miles, city Fire Chief Andrew DiMizio said. "Literally last night, all hell broke loose," he said.

11:22 a.m. update: Winds have remained relatively calm in the morning hours, much as fire officials had expected. Crews are attacking lines vigorously in anticipation of heavy winds this afternoon. "Today is supposed to be a carbon copy of yesterday," County Fire Chief Tom Franklin said, noting that wind gusts were measured yesterday at up to 70 mph. "There's nothing you can do at that point." He also dismissed any notion that there is a lack of urgency among firefighters or officials, pointing out that approximately 1,400 firefighters have been assigned to the blaze. "The bulk of these people are...

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – Gusty winds have driven a wildfire into outlying neighborhoods of Santa Barbara, Calif., and residents of more homes have been told to leave. ... The fire lay dormant most of the day. But strong winds with gusts up to 50 mph arrived in the afternoon and stoked the fire. The sheriff's office says an evacuation order covering 1,200 homes has been expanded to 2,000 homes.

The town’s defensible space proposal — and how it might be enforced — has some Breckenridge property owners frustrated with the prospect they’ll have to pay to cut down the very trees they were once told to protect. More than 40 residents visited Breckenridge town hall Tuesday afternoon for lively discussion on the future of their landscaping and wildfire protection. The aging forest and spread of mountain pine-beetle infestation have made the possibility of catastrophic wildfire reasonable enough for council to consider the proposal. The idea behind defensible space is to create buffer zones between structures and forests. Officials with...

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FIFTY people are confirmed dead in bushfires that have devastated several Victorian communities. Police have just confirmed the new figure. 640 houses have been destroyed. While firebugs are being blamed for several blazes ravaging Victoria, the Country Fire Authority has confirmed that several fires are being deliberately relit by arsonists. CFA deputy chief Steve Warrington said an arsonist is hampering firefighters’ efforts in Churchill with an intense blaze taking hold. "We know we do have someone who is lighting fires in this community. While we often think it's spotting, we also know that there are people lighting fires deliberately," he...

BESMAYA RANGE COMPLEX — A group of Iraqi Soldiers stepped up to help California residents victimized by recent wildfires raging throughout the state. Iraqi Army Col. Abbas Fadhil, Besmaya Range Complex commander, and his team of “Abbas’ Eagles” raised $500 for wildfire relief. “We want to send a message to the American president and the American people,” Abbas said. “We feel that we are a family — one body. When one part of the body suffers, the other parts suffer, too.” This is the fourth donation the Soldiers of Besmaya have sent to the American people recently. In September, they...

Forest Service Investigator Believes Barton Lied About Letter. The lead U.S. Forest Service investigator looking into the cause of Colorado's largest wildfire testified Tuesday that she doesn't believe a burning letter sparked the fire. Agent Kimberly Jones was testifying in a Denver federal civil case where five insurance companies and several property owners are suing the federal government for more than $7 million because a Forest Service employee was responsible. That employee, Terry Barton, was convicted of starting the 2002 Hayman wildfire and spent nearly six years in a federal prison. When Jones testified that she didn't believe there ever...

Our view:It’s criminally negligent when politicians can’t set aside differences long enough to talk for a morning about an urgent public safety hazard The organizers of a wildfire forum in Sacramento on Wednesday brought together three members of the U.S. Congress and half a dozen state lawmakers. They drew the California fire marshal, the head of the state Fire Safe Council, Forest Service researchers and officials, and county supervisors from around the region. STORY TOOLS E-mail story Comments iPod friendly Printer friendly News alerts Subscribe to the paper Submit a news tip More Editorials Delta overhaul can't undercut northern rights...

Nearly 2,000 firefighters made a stand Saturday on Highway 1, near famous inns and spas bereft of tourists on this holiday weekend, as crews sought to beat back the out-of-control Basin Complex wildfire in Big Sur in advance of a heat wave expected to start rolling into the area today.

Vast Peat Fire May Burn for Months in North CarolinaWillie Drye for National Geographic NewsJune 13, 2008 About 450 firefighters are battling a 40,000-acre (16,000-hectare) blaze in northeastern North Carolina that could burn for months unless the drought-stricken region gets a downpour. The fire, which was sparked by a lightning strike on June 1, is currently the largest active wildfire in the United States. Containing and extinguishing the fire is posing a unique challenge, because it is burning in highly flammable peatland. Peat is partially decomposed plant matter formed in wetlands that can be harvested as fuel. It can be...

Firefighters are evacuating residents near a wildfire that is burning out of control this morning in the Santa Cruz Mountains. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said the fire has burned about 500 acres. Sheriff's deputies from Santa Cruz and Santa Clara counties are in the process of evacuating residents living in a three-mile stretch near Mount Madonna Road, according to Chris Morgan, a fire prevention specialist. Morgan estimates there are at least 20 homes in the are being threatened by the fire. "Our main priority is evacuations, getting people out safely," Morgan said. "Then we can start...

Along the fringes of land scorched by last fall's massive wildfires, pockets of oat grass are sprouting from the Malibu canyons to the San Diego suburbs. A damp winter has suppressed large fires this year, but encouraged the growth of combustible grasses, highlighting an irony of wildfire season that has become a punch line of sorts for firefighters. "If rainfall is normal, it will be a terrible fire season. If it's a drought year, it will be a terrible fire season," said Thom Porter of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. The number of acres burned this year...

Crews began tearing away the charred planks and blackened cables of the Dewey Bridge on Monday after fire gutted the 92-year-old structure that had spanned the Colorado River 28 miles north of Moab, Utah. Flames blamed on a 7-year-old Grand Junction boy playing with matches Sunday afternoon had devoured the bridge’s creosote-soaked wooden deck and rails. The fire forced an Afton, Wyo., family of five to flee the campsite they had just upstream from the bridge and irritated a Fruita woman who remembered that ranchers used to use controlled burns on the stream and river bottoms to avoid just such...

Rapid development in wildfire-prone areas and continued bone-dry weather have alarmed California firefighters, who began a sweeping assessment of fire danger Tuesday and what's needed to meet it. Catastrophic wildfires that burned across the state last month and in 2003 were of an intensity that should be witnessed rarely - perhaps once a century, they say. The proximity of those fires has raised fears that furious blazes could become more frequent, threatening lives and property. "We've had our second 100-year fire in four years. So, if you are going to have a 100-year fire every four years, it seems that...

At Camp Gan Israel, crews fighting devastating blazes in mountains east of Los Angeles find more than a source of water Associated Press Published: 10.28.07, 09:36 / Israel Jewish Scene Dark beards blowing, black felt fedoras flying off their heads, the four hassidic rabbis clapped their chests with open palms and cheered as the firefighting helicopter dipped its bucket into their camp swimming pool. At the Camp Gan Israel, crews fighting devastating blazes in the mountains east of Los Angeles have found more than a source of water. The rabbis have been serving kosher meals, spiced with a dollop of...

IRVINE, Calif. -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Saturday pledged to ruthlessly hunt down anyone suspected of setting a fast-moving blaze that has burned 27,600-acres in Santiago, and promised swift punishment for scam artists and looters. Authorities believe at least two of the wildfires have suspicious origins and are the result of arson. "If I were one of those people who started the fires I would not sleep soundly," Schwarzenegger said. "We're right behind you -- turn yourself in." "We know in Orange County this was arson," said Orange County Sheriff Michael S. Carona. "This was not some random act that...

It has come to my attention that German Shepherd Rescue of Orange County is overflowing with pups that were going to have to be euthanized due to the extra GSD's that have come in to them due to the fires. GSROC WAS NOT GOING TO DO THE EUTHANIZING....!!! I know one lady who has nine (9)! dogs living in her home, temporarily....(yikes!) Anyway...they need help, big time. If you've never owned a GSD before, I'd recommend you read up on the breed as they will train YOU if you don't learn to train THEM from the moment they come strutting...

WASHINGTON, Oct 26 (Reuters) - The U.S. government's main disaster-response agency apologized on Friday for having its employees pose as reporters in a hastily called news conference on California's wildfires that no news organizations attended.

LOS ANGELES — As wildfires were charging across Southern California, nearly two dozen water-dropping helicopters and two massive cargo planes sat idly by, grounded by government rules and bureaucracy. How much the aircraft would have helped will never be known, but their inability to provide quick assistance raises troubling questions about California's preparations for a fire season that was widely expected to be among the worst on record. It took as long as a day for Navy, Marine and California National Guard helicopters to get clearance early this week, in part because state rules require all firefighting choppers to be...

As Calif. fires burned, copters grounded By AARON C. DAVIS and MICHAEL R. BLOOD, Associated Press Writers 2 minutes ago As wildfires were charging across Southern California, nearly two dozen water-dropping helicopters and two massive cargo planes sat idly by, grounded by government rules and bureaucracy. How much the aircraft would have helped will never be known, but their inability to provide quick assistance raises troubling questions about California's preparations for a fire season that was widely expected to be among the worst on record. It took as long as a day for Navy, Marine and California National Guard helicopters...

LOS ANGELES, Oct 25 (Reuters) - California's fire-fighting strategy has made big strides since deadly infernos in 2003 but little could have prepared it for the perfect storm of drought, high winds and triple-digit temperatures behind massive blazes this week, officials said on Thursday. As 9,000 weary firefighters, air tankers and water-dropping helicopters struggled for a fifth day to bring the last of about 20 wild fires under control, authorities said lessons had been learned from previous fires. "After the first two days, we had almost as many resources in the field as it took six days to mobilize in...

High winds and bureaucratic wrangling kept much needed firefighting aircraft on the ground this week, but whom to blame seemed murkier Thursday than the skies above Southern California. Some legislators accused federal fire officials and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger of making a slow-footed response followed by fast dancing and photo ops. Schwarzenegger called the criticism "a bunch of nonsense." But one federal legislator was poised to call for congressional hearings. "We'll wait until the smoke clears until I start raising hell," said Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Huntington Beach. "We need to put people under oath to find out whether a lack of...

SAN DIEGO - The NFL stadium where thousands of displaced residents sought refuge is closing as an evacuation center, a symbolic show of progress against wildfires still menacing Southern California. Once sheltering more than 10,000 people, Qualcomm Stadium was home to just 350 on Friday morning. It was to close later in the day.

California Rep. Duncan Hunter is AWOL from Capitol Hill today, but for good reason. Instead of casting votes, the Republican presidential hopeful is in his home state trying to help his constituents with the wildfires that are raging in their district. But he's not sleeping at home. Hunter's neighborhood has been evacuated. "We lost ours in the last fire," said Hunter today, referring to a 2003 blaze that burned 2,000 homes around San Diego, including Hunter's.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - California wildfires created an electricity "island" of San Diego County on Wednesday as one major power transmission link to the U.S. West grid was shut and the other was flickering on and off, said San Diego Gas & Electric Co. A minor link to Mexico that has been pressed into service now has fire under it and may have to shut as well, California power officials said Wednesday afternoon. This makes the San Diego area susceptible to major blackouts unless customers conserve power, said Michael Niggli, chief operating officer of SDG&E. San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders...

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - California wildfires created an electricity "island" of San Diego County on Wednesday but a major blackout was averted when a key power transmission line to Arizona resumed operation in the afternoon, San Diego Gas & Electric Co. said. The Southwest Powerlink is one of two major transmission corridors that connect San Diego County to the U.S. West power grid. It had been out of service since Sunday when wildfires approached it. The other major link in the north part of the SDG&E service territory ceased operation about the same time the Southwest Powerlink restarted, said Rachel...

ARLINGTON, Va. — The commitment of U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan have not affected the Pentagon’s ability to direct personnel or supplies to the firefighting effort in California, according to military officials. “I can tell you unequivocally that the ongoing warfighting activities in [U.S. Central Command] have had no negative effect at all with regard to our ability to provide sufficient forces to assist civilian authorities in fighting the wildfires,” Paul McHale, assistant secretary of defense for homeland defense, told Pentagon reporters Tuesday. On Tuesday, Democratic California Sen. Barbara Boxer said she believed the state National Guard’s ability to...

of course, it didn't take the dhimocrats long to make it about the war in Iraq... honey, just how low can you go??? California Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer complained on Capitol Hill Tuesday that the ability of the state's National Guard to respond to disasters like the fires has been compromised because too much of its equipment and personnel are committed in Iraq. Just goes to show how little the friggin' woman knows about her own state's NG: While less than a fourth of the California National Guard is deployed... So, 20,000 NG members is CA... 5,000 deployed... and the...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Special FBI teams gathered evidence Wednesday as part of a possible arson investigation into the wildfires devastating Southern California, the agency said.

I just saw four C-130's flying over northern San Diego County. We have been waiting for days for these giant fixed wing aircraft to get the clearance to leave Pt. Magu and head down and help out with all the fires. They came lumbering down the I-15 corridor in a line, took a huge lazy circle over Valley Center, and then headed off into the haze to the East. I haven't seen any news coverage of their arrival, but can't wait for the pictures of the drops they make. Saw the DC-10 on the news making its drop and it...

Amid worries of new blazes adding to the firestorm already afflicting the region, a man in Hesperia has been arrested on suspicion of arson, and police reported shooting and killing another arson suspect after chasing him out of scrub behind Cal State San Bernardino. Law enforcement officials said today that they didn't know whether either of the men had started any of the more than a dozen large fires that have devastated Southern California in recent days, including the nearby Lake Arrowhead blaze. The brush fire in Hesperia was quickly extinguished by residents. Investigators have said that at least two...

The Santana Winds or Santa Ana Winds, most common in the late summer and early fall, begin with dry air moving in from the interior of the U.S. towards Southern California. As this air flows down into the Los Angeles-Orange County Basin through the low gaps in the mountains (notably Cajon Pass on the east end of the San Gabriel Mountains and Soledad Pass south of Palmdale), it compresses and warms about five degrees Fahrenheit for every 1,000 feet that it descends. Though these winds are much cooler high in the mountains, they can become hot and dry and assume...

Editorial: Fires are terrible, arson is worse Amid so much tragedy and destruction, some of it appears deliberate An Orange County Register editorial We had hoped beyond hope that, somehow, in this season when all the conditions, including a devastating lack of rain, were ripe for the kind of wildfires that are a regular feature of life in what we like to think of otherwise as near-paradise, we miraculously would be spared. But it was not to be. Our dismay is doubled, however, by the circumstances that authorities believe caused the fire that has burned at least 8.800 acres in...

FEMA and other US agencies seem to have improved their emergency response since the 2005 Katrina fiasco. Curbside service: Firefighters caught some rest Tuesday after battling wildfires near San Diego. Lucy Nicholson/ReutersLos Angeles and San Diego - In a dark corridor of Qualcomm Stadium, Jennifer Dillon of Rancho Bernardo, Calif., watches her 6-year-old daughter Molly sleep on a cot supplied by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Mother and daughter are surrounded by evacuees from across San Diego, most of whom tote a few items – shirts, towels, stuffed animals – inside backpacks or shoulder bags. "This time around, the county...

Californian fires affect TV shows Fires near Irvine, California forced 24 to halt production Filming of TV shows including 24 has reportedly been hit by the wild fires sweeping across southern California.Scenes featuring 24's lead star Kiefer Sutherland had to be halted at a military base near Irvine, Orange County, because of the smoke. Other series were also hit, trade publication Hollywood Reporter said. Fierce winds are fanning at least 16 fires that have razed land from Santa Barbara to the Mexican border, forcing 500,000 people out of their homes. The blazes have left three people dead and destroyed...

In the eyes of Orange County firefighters, it was a battle they didn't have to lose. They watched helplessly as homes burned along Santiago Canyon Road. They ducked beneath fire-retardant tents to escape flames that had gotten too close. They waited for air support that was slow in coming. Orange County Fire Authority Chief Chip Prather said inadequate state resources put his crew in danger and forced him to give up part of Modjeska Canyon to the flames. As more than a dozen fires turned California from a vacation hot spot to a charred landscape, Prather and others questioned whether...