With more than a dozen fires raging in Southern California, local firefighters' efforts to stymie two mountain blazes are strained by limited resources.
"It does affect resources," said Tracey Martinez, spokeswoman for the San Bernardino County Fire Department. "It definitely affects the ability to get equipment in here quickly."
A strike team of county firefighters was heading to Los Angeles County to battle wildfires in Malibu, but the crews were diverted when fires erupted in the San Bernardino Mountains, Martinez said.
The fires that have scorched dozens of homes in Lake Arrowhead are now a top priority among the many blazes in San Diego, Orange, Los Angeles and Riverside counties, Martinez said.
"We'll pulling more firefighters from outside of our county," she said. "Every available firefighter that we can release is working this fire. At the same time, we have to make sure the rest of the county is safe." The fact that Gov. Arnold Schwarzegger declared San Bernardino County a disaster area along with several other counties in the state, should speed the delivery of reinforcements to the mountains, officials said.
"We'll start filling our orders for resources and equipment a lot faster," Martinez said. "They are bringing resourcs as quickly as possible from as far away as possible." But the gusty winds continue to plague efforts to bring in aircraft to douse the flames.
"With 60 to 70 mile per hour winds, it's not just safe," Martinez said. "Once the winds die down, we'll get our aircraft up as quickly as possible." -- Stephen Wall