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« October 23, 2007 |
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We’re signing off for the night. Check latimes.com for more updates throughout the night. The metro staff of latimes.com will be back in this space tomorrow morning. Thank you for reading.
San Diego:
Civic forgetfulness is part of the political DNA of San Diego. After major fires in the past -- the Normal Heights fire, the La Costa fire, the Cedar fire, and others -- the cry has been for better fire protection.
Reports are done and proposals made, but overall little happens, particularly on the politically touchy issue of merging small fire agencies and the expensive idea of adding more firefighters in San Diego.
San Diego City Council President Scott Peters hopes this time proves different.
"The question now is whether we're going to forget all about this in six months," he said.
***
As the evacuation orders are lifted for more neighborhoods, a new word has entered the local lexicon: repopulation. Residents being allowed into their homes are said to be repopulating their neighborhoods.
***
Where there is art, there is life, somebody said.
The production of "Jersey Boys," the musical story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, at the San Diego Civic Theatre was canceled early in the week. On Wednesday, the producers decided the show must go on, and announced that the evening performance was a go.
"We feel it's important to honor the obligations to our patrons," said director Des McAnuff, "and provide a diversion for those who need it, and as much of a return to normalcy as possible."
-- Tony Perry
San Pasqual Valley:
The Wild Animal Park reports two fire fatalities: a clapper-rail bird and a kiang, also known as a Tibetan wild ass. Necropsies are pending. Neither animal was burned, so smoke inhalation is suspected.
The rest of the 3,500 animals survived without injury, a park spokesman said. Many moved (voluntarily) to the center of the expansive areas toward ponds and away from fire burning on the perimeter.
"Their instinct is to move away from fire," said spokesman Andrew Circo. No need for reverse 911 calls.
-- Tony Perry
San Diego:
At a late-afternoon press conference, local officials were upbeat. The shift in wind, additional firefighters, and more air tankers have blunted the fires' growth and are smothering it, slowly but relentlessly.
"Today I can finally say: It's a good afternoon," said county Sheriff Bill Kolender.
Supervisor Ron Roberts, chairman of the Board of Supervisors, had what he called several key pieces of good news:
- A major electrical transmission line has been repaired.
- Evacuation orders are being lifted for a growing number of communities.
- "One-stop" centers are being opened for burned-out residents to meet with city, county, state and federal officials to seek assistance, along with insurance company representatives and charitable groups.
One of the first centers is in Rancho Bernardo, one of the hardest-hit communities, with the loss of nearly 300 homes. The center will be open seven days a week.
"The vast majority of San Diego is open for repopulation," said Mayor Jerry Sanders.
Councilman Brian Mainschein, who represents Rancho Bernardo, predicted a quick rebuilding effort.
"We will rebuild Rancho Bernardo, and we will do it in a way that makes the city and the entire region proud," he said.
Rick Hutchinson, assistant fire commander, said that the fires were no longer devouring acreage. "We are actively pursuing the fire," he said.
-- Tony Perry
San Diego County:
In total, three San Diego County hospitals evacuated 315 patients. They are Aurora Behavioral Health Care/San Diego, Pomerado Hospital in Poway and Fallbrook Hospital. None have reopened, but Pomerado and Fallbrook would like to by the end of the week, state officials said.
An additional 14 nursing homes evacuated 1,293 residents. Three homes have since returned with 442 residents, said Kathleen Billingsley, deputy director for the Center for Healthcare Quality at the California Department of Public Health.
"I think it went extremely well," Billingsley said of the evacuations. "I'm very proud of the job that we have done."
-- Charles Ornstein
Fredalba:
Ricky Davis pulled up in a blue pickup truck with his boss and found his home virtually the last one standing on the historic stretch of Fredalba Road.
More than a year ago Davis and his long-time girlfriend, Beth Walsh, were breathless with excitement when they moved into Fredalba on Davis' 35th birthday in August. He spent September and October chopping down the tall pine trees and laying white rocks along driveway, ever conscious of the peril a wildfire could pose to the onetime logging community, which sits on a perch in the San Bernadino Mountains at 5,400 feet.
He knew nothing of fire early Monday morning when he left for his job at the Big Bear Marina. When co-workers told him, he tried to return to save the nine cats at home and the four keeshond dogs tied out back.
"You never think its going to happen," Davis said. "You're expecting to be let in to get your livestock and a little box with all your paperwork, and you have officials out there that stop you from coming in and tell you, 'Oh, it's already in flames, it's gonna burn down.'" With all the homes burning in Running Springs, "the reality was that resources "I don't want to say they were unavailable, but it was tough to get resources down into (the Fredalba) area," said U.S. Forest Service spokesman Bob Poole.
Davis was turned away Monday morning by CHP officer who warned he would be arrested if he tried to go back.
It was anguish -- save his animals or risk landing in jail, he said. Davis' boss got through with an emergency volunteer pass and brought the dogs and most of the cats back to Big Bear.
Early Wednesday afternoon, after slipping through the tightly monitored mountain checkpoints , Davis stared in disbelief at the line of houses leveled all along Fredalba Road. Then he remembered Viper, a favored pet that is half-bobcat, half-cat. He sprinted past the ash-covered flowers along his driveway, unlocked the door and ran from room to room.
"He's probably hiding somewhere, and I don't blame him," Davis said hopefully, slumping into a wooden chair at the dining room table when Viper failed to appear. His girlfriend was firing questions through his cellphone speaker about the status of the tool shed and their neighbors' homes. All gone.
His voice broke and tears welled a minute as he tried to describe what existed before Monday -- the tall rustling pines, the tight community where people treated one another like family.
"My neighbors are going to come back to nothing," Davis said, covering his eyes with his ball cap and passing his cellphone to a reporter.
It was Walsh calling again. She asked more questions than she answered.
"What do you mean, what did it look like?" she asked a reporter. "It's green, it's full of trees. I like it there because I want to be in the mountains with trees all around us. There are still trees there, aren't there?"
She was interrupted by Davis' shouts that he had found Jeff, their black cat who was hiding in the darkness beneath the back deck. "I've got to find Viper and then we're complete," Davis said. On the phone, Beth began to cry.
***
A hundred miles away in Valley Center (northern San Diego County), Rick Mercurio was heartsick to find that little more than the metal roof remained of his family house in Fredalba.
His great-aunt and -uncle bought the land in 1922 and built a cabin after the lumber companies pulled out. They left the property to Mercurio's mother and her siblings. His mother and father began 65 happy years of marriage after a chance meeting at a dance at Smiley Park in Fredalba in 1938. Family members traded off the cabin on weekends and gathered there each year for Thanksgiving.
The woodblocks Mercurio's great-aunt carved for Christmas cards hung on one wall, her paintings and watercolors on another. Native American baskets and pottery collected by a great-uncle who was an amateur archeologist were all on display. "There are so many memories in that cabin, and all the pictures were in there, so we're just sick," Mercurio said. "It was like a museum for our family."
-- Maeve Reston
Orange County:
The FBI late Wednesday said it was helping Orange County, California, sheriff and fire officials investigate the source of "some" of the fires, according to spokesperson Laura Eimiller. Authorities earlier confirmed they had determined the Santiago fire (near Lake Forest and Irvine) was an arson, and that the FBI and local officials spent Wednesday examining the location where it originated as a crime scene. Eimiller, in a statement, said FBI Evidence Response Teams had been working with other federal, state and local authorities to identify the source of the Santiago fire.
Temecula:
Daniel Berlant of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection told reporters in Sacramento at 8 p.m. that a fourth fire had been contained-- the 411-acre Rosa fire in Riverside County. The fire started near Temecula.
-- Patrick McGreevy
The FBI has announced a 1-800 number to report wildfire-related fraud schemes. Authorities anticipate many Internet-based scams cloaking themselves as disaster-relief charities. They warn to contribute only to known, legitimate organizations, and to never give up your credit card number.
To report a complaint, please call (800) CALL FBI. |
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San Diego:
Late Wednesday, San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders announced three major donations to the San Diego relief effort: $1 million in cash from Wal-Mart to the American Red Cross, in addition to $400,000 in in-kind contribution; $500,000 from Wells Fargo, split between the Red Cross and the Salvation Army; and $100,000 from La Jolla-based Science Applications International Corp., a major high-tech defense firm, split between the Red Cross and the Salvation Army.
-- Tony Perry
Valley Center, San Diego:
A day after George and Katie Ramirez were evacuated from her Valley Center home, the couple got an offer from state fire officials they couldn't refuse.
They would be allowed back through the roadblock if they opened their restaurant in the morning to serve firefighters. The tabs, a Department of Forestry and Fire Protection liaison assured them, would be picked up by the state.
On Wednesday morning, the doors of Papa Bear's were barely open before firefighters began streaming in. The location, along State Route 6 in Valley center, was easily accessible to crews working the Witch Creek and Poomacha fires.
Fresh from the front lines, some faces blackened with ash, they brought hearty appetites.
"They're asking if there's a limit on what they can order," a waitress said to Katie.
"They didn't give me a limit," she responded.
Katie's house was OK. And she slept there, but not for long.
That's because she had to make a late-night run to Food 4 Less in Escondido to beef up the kitchen inventory with 15 loaves of bread, seven gallons of orange juice and two huge bags of potatoes.
"We already had most of the major supplies," she said. "But we needed bread because our bread guy couldn't get up here to deliver it."
Within hours of opening, they ran out of hash browns and had to run back to the store.
About noon, the couple ran out of hamburger buns and were strategizing another shopping excursion.
By then, with two cooks and three waitresses on duty, they had served about 160 firefighters, CHP officers and others working the fires. Everyone had their hands full, and three more firetrucks were pulling in.
"Oh my gosh, I don't know what I'm going to do with them," Katie said, looking around at her dining room, not a seat in the house.
As if on cue, a group taking up a couple of booths in the back of the diner got up to leave.
"Thanks," they all said on their way out.
"Be safe," she told them.
-- Christine Hanley
Although the evacuation orders for numerous communities are being lifted, the Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians ordered its Viejas Casino closed late Wednesday as the Witch and Harris fires approached. The casino is adjacent to Interstate 8, 30 miles east of San Diego.
The Viejas Outlet Center is also closed.
-- Tony Perry
Qualcomm Stadium:
Michael Turley, a financial advisor from San Diego, was volunteering at the San Diego evacuation center Wednesday, handing out food and other goods to displaced families, when he saw a half-dozen people using wheelchairs to load supplies into tents, then shifting them into cars and trucks with Baja California license plates.
"It was a total slap in the face," said Turley, who has been volunteering at the stadium since Monday. "Here we had been volunteering and busting our butts, and people were taking all this."
Turley approached the people, but they told him they didn’t speak English. He called in police, who questioned the three couples. They had three children with them — two boys, ages 13 and 8, and a 2 year-old girl.
Police determined that none of them were evacuees, according to San Diego Police spokeswoman Monica Munoz. Two couples, including the children’s parents, admitted to being undocumented immigrants and were turned over to immigration agents, Munoz said. The third couple was released without being charged, Munoz said.
Munoz said that starting tonight, police will be asking for identification from those entering the stadium.
Turley said he understands that police are "stretched thin" and said they and National Guardsmen have done a good job of securing the stadium.
"It really is a completely different thing than Katrina, but you still have some of that occurring," Turley said. "That just ate me up. A lot of us have families who were evacuated."
-- Molly Hennessy-Fiske
For the record: An earlier version of this post described undocumented immigrants as Mexican. The police spokeswoman said she did not identify them that way.
Modjeska Canyon, eastern Orange County:
Susan Hand, who lives in Modjeska Canyon, left Tuesday morning after a firefighter came to her home and said, "You need to leave now." She jumped in the car with her son, Sam, 14, and two dogs, D.O.G. and Marley, not even remembering to bring her purse.
Susan's husband, Steve Hand, and their 16-year-old son, Steven, were supposed to follow in another car. But as Susan drove away, she turned around and saw only flames licking the left side of the road.
She couldn't reach her husband because there was no cellphone reception in the canyon.
It wasn't until a few hours later -- after Steve hiked up a nearby mountain to find cellphone reception -- that Susan learned that her husband had stayed to spray the house down. Steve, who works for Leatherwood Construction, had driven to his job site Monday and picked up a large fire hose, just in case. When his wife left Tuesday, he connected the hose to a sidewalk fire hydrant and sprayed his home and a handful of others on Harding Canyon Road.
Steve told Susan that their house was fine, but that others on the street had burned to the ground.
"My dad is so stubborn. He wanted to protect our house," said daughter Jessica, 23. "I can't even believe it. But thank goodness for his stubbornness."
-- My-Thuan Tran
Lake Arrowhead adjacent, San Bernardino Mountains:
A base camp for as many as 3,000 firefighters battling the Slide fire is under construction at the Snow Valley Ski Resort, about 20 miles east of Lake Arrowhead on Highway 18.
Even as workers set up sleeping quarters, shower stalls, kitchens and communication centers for new arrivals from as far away as Utah and Idaho, the Slide fire roared all but unimpeded through insect-ravaged and drought-stricken pine and oak forests, sending up clouds of smoke so thick that air tankers were unable to help in the attack.
That fire has spread across a vast swath of mountainous terrain, occasionally making unexpected runs up side canyons to Highway 18 where firefighters have fought back with hoes and shovels.
-- Louis Sahagun
Winchester, Riverside County:
Riverside County has opened the Lake Skinner Recreation Area as a temporary evacuation site for people who have fled the wildfires in motor homes or pulling campers or tent trailers. Authorities are hoping these people will move off the streets, where they have been parking since they were ordered to leave.
More than 300 sites are available, some with water, sewer and electricity; some with water and electric; some with water only; and some suited only for dry camping. Food will not be available at the facility, and there are limited numbers of showers.
Evacuees may enter the Lake Skinner area at any hour while the facility is being used as a temporary shelter. The address is 37001 Warren Road in Winchester.
Eastern fringe of Valley Center, San Diego County:
Along Hell Creek Road, in Hell Creek Canyon, Randy Cauble woke up to his own personal hell Wednesday.
Asleep inside an aluminum Airstream trailer, Cauble was awakened to find that the Poomacha fire had crested Mt. Rodriguez just across the tight canyon, and was heading his way. He already spent Monday and Tuesday watching the Witches fire threaten his home.
But that's only half the reason he defied an evacuation order to stay and try to protect his property.
In 2003, the Cedar fire took the home that once stood on the same ground where he is building a dream retirement home for himself and his wife. And there was no way he was going to relive that nightmare.
"I still get emotional about it," he said, his voice quaking. "The past three days have been filled with so much adrenaline, I haven't had time to think about it."
Cauble and his wife, Laurie, bought the original home five months before the Cedar fire struck. Laurie wanted it because it looked out on Mt. Rodriguez, her favorite view.
It was a large ranch with a wraparound porch, all built with wood. The woman who sold it to them was head of the local Arborist Society, so the grounds were flush with a meadow of plants and trees of all kinds.
It didn't stand a chance in a fire.
Cauble, an original owner of the Blue Cafe in Long Beach and other restaurants but now retired, has spent about three years building the new home, with plans to finish it by Christmas.
The modern glass home is a clear reflection of the lessons he learned from Cedar, fortified with stone and stucco and surrounded on all sides with a foundation wall of cinder blocks.
Cauble brought in a tractor to clear out a lot of the brush and brambles that somehow didn't burn the first time around.
"This is a fire-resistant house," he said."
Still, he wasn't taking any chances when news of the Witch fire broke Sunday. He left in the middle of a dinner party in Long Beach, promising his wife he wouldn't stay "if there was even 1% chance I could get myself killed."
When he arrived home, he and some other guys in the neighborhood decided to take turns keeping watch, in four-hour shifts.
That first night, a neighbor's wind gauge registered gusts of up to 120 mph, he said.
"That thing was rocking so much," he said, pointing to the Airstream. "It was like sleeping in a boat during a perfect storm."
Cauble, who estimates he got about 8 hours of sleep in three days, said the experience was full of frantic and surreal moments too intense to articulate -- and no day was worse than Wednesday.
It was about 5 a.m. when he got up to see spot fires burning everywhere on Mt. Rodriguez.
He turned on all the sprinklers and laid out his hoses. The fire and smoke reached the dry bed of Hell Creek just down the slope of his backyard.
Fire crews began arriving, and Cauble went to a neighbor's home while they worked on the small fires near his property.
He returned once the crews thought they got the last of the hot spots.
But flareups continued while the firefighters turned to building a break along nearby Santee Road, to keep the Poomachi and Witch fires from merging.
"Tell them I could use some help down here putting out some fires," he said nervously during a cellphone conversation with a reporter (me).
"It's still bad in some spots," he added. "My log pile is about to go up. They'll probably see it."
It was almost 2 p.m. Cauble was wearing yellow fireman's pants, and a mask over his stubbly jaw.
His good friend Lindsay Allison, who lives about 20 miles west, was on his way to help Cauble fix the irrigation system circling his property.
By the time Allison arrived, some firefighters had returned. The biggest flareups were burning 10 to 20 feet high at the foot of Cauble's driveway.
"We're going to watch and see if we can let this one burn itself out," a crewman told him.
It did, about 20 minutes later.
"What a day," Cauble said to Allison. "What a helluva day."
But there were still hot spots smoldering, and they needed to be put out before dark.
"We gotta knock 'em down," Allison warned. "They'll burn for days if you don't."
-- Christine Hanley
Los Angeles:
In the Los Angeles Unified School District, only one school closed entirely. Topanga Canyon Elementary, not far from the fire zone, shut down Tuesday, but reopened on Wednesday. The school system has canceled all outdoor activities, including physical education classes and team practices "until further notice," based on directive from the county health department and the district's own environmental health and safety office.
"Students are even eating inside at many of our schools," said Richard Alonzo, the superintendent of District 4, which includes Glassell Park, Echo Park and Hollywood. As for recreation activities, "schools usually have board games and things like that," said Alonzo. "They can read or play indoors, anything to get kids out of their seats and moving around."
Carson High Principal Kenneth Keener said his student athletes were able to play basketball and volleyball matches Wednesday because they were indoors. "Anything outside, we're just waiting for word of when it's safe, day by day," Keener said.
But even indoor activities are not automatically allowed, said Shelley Weston, a senior staffer in District 7, which covers much of South Los Angeles. "As a principal you need to look at your ventilation system," she said. "If you have a facility where you have a lot of outside air coming in," there may be problems.
The biggest athletic event of the week at many schools is Friday night football, which is officially canceled or postponed until district officials announce otherwise. Updates are posted at the website for the California Interscholastic Federation Los Angeles City Section.
-- Howard Blume
Lake Forest, Orange County:
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, on a tour of a fire evacuation center at El Toro High School, was asked whether more people would have been available to fight the blazes if the National Guard had not been in Iraq.
"I think you're always going to be short on resources," Schwarzenegger said. "I think if you ask the Red Cross that, they will tell you that. If you ask the firefighters, they will also tell you that, because this disaster has hit at one time. In one day, all those fires started. They are all struggling for resources."
He added, "I'm happy the state and local governments are working so well together."
The governor and Assemblyman Todd Spitzer (R-Orange) who was also at the event, got along swimmingly today. Spitzer did not say a word about his broadside yesterday against the government for failing to support the firefight in Orange County.
"This governor has been all over the state, from San Diego to Malibu. This is a governor who cares deeply about you," Spitzer said.
-- My-Thuan Tran
Pendleton, San Diego County:
The Marine Corps has halted most outdoor training at the boot camp in San Diego because of smoky air.
Also, the 72-hour gut-busting exercise for recruits at Camp Pendleton called the Crucible has been halted.
Marines are spending their days indoors in "values training" discussions with drill instructors. The recruit depot is open to retired and active-duty military who have had to evacuate from homes off-base. The mess hall, bowling alley and post-exchange are open.
Graduation ceremonies set for this week, which bring parents from across the country to watch their sons receive the coveted eagle-globe-and-anchor, are still scheduled.
-- Tony Perry
Orange County:
Investigators from the FBI and county agencies today were at Silverado Canyon and Santiago Canyon roads, where the Santiago fire was believed to have started, investigating arson charges.
"It's definitely arson and it's been deemed a crime scene," said Jim Amormino, spokesman for the Orange County Sheriff's Department.
Although there were several media reports of a raid on a home in the area by the FBI and other authorities, Amormino and FBI spokesperson Laura Eimiller said there had been no search warrant issued and they were unaware of any raid.
The FBI is joining the investigation because the fire crossed into federal lands in the Cleveland National Forest.
-- Jennifer Delson
San Diego:
At least seven fire victims are in critical condition, and 10 others are listed in fair to good condition, in the burn unit of UCSD Hospital, Dr. Raul Coimbra, chief of trauma, said today.
Seven of the 17 are firefighters and the rest are civilians. An 18th patient was discharged earlier in the day.
The patients suffered burns on between 2% and 60% of their bodies. Over 40% is considered critical, he said.
Half the patients also suffer from smoke inhalation, which hurts their chances of survival, Coimbra said.
"When you are in a disaster-preparedness area, the type of work you're doing is always trying to stay ahead of the game," Coimbra said.
"We've been there four years ago [for the devastating 2003 Cedar fire], so this is not new to us," Coimbra said. "But the difference between then and now, not just for us, but in this whole community, is that things were not as bad as they could have been because we were ready."
Coimbra added that just a week ago, his staff had staged a practice drill that helped them prepare for this week's disaster. That drill was a recreation of the Virginia Tech shooting.
-- Ari Bloomekatz
The wildfires ripped into some of the richest areas of the state’s avocado crop, including the foothills above Irvine in Orange County and Fallbrook and Valley Center in San Diego County.
Based on early reports, an official with the California Avocado Commission said the state might have lost 10% to 20% of what was expected to be a $325 million to $350 million crop in 2008.
If the damage is limited to that estimate, prices -- already high from a January freeze -- are unlikely to take much of a jump, said the commission’s Wayne Brydon.
-- Jerry Hirsch
Lake Forest:
Standing away from the crowd surrounding Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger after his news conference at El Toro High School, four evacuees from Fallbrook--three men and one woman--waited to learn if their houses had survived the night.
They received a mandatory evacuation order on Monday as a result of the Rice fire, which has burned at least 7,500 acres and is about 10% contained, with 206 homes, two business and 40 outbuildings destroyed and 1,500 homes still threatened.
"We haven't heard back about our houses," said James Smith, 53, a resident of Fallbrook. "I finally got through to the San Diego Fire Department this morning, but they didn't pick up."
Ban Hedgerwood, 62, a long-time resident who lived in Fallbrook during the devastating 2003 Cedar fire, said the evacuation was orderly and quick. "Cedar Creek was a Chinese you-know-what drill," he said, referring to the rushed evacuations during the 2003 fire. "They learned their lesson with that one."
When asked about the promised government aid, including a property tax break for residents whose houses were burned down, Jane Butler, 77, said she was impressed with the immediate care evacuees had received.
"The care has been exceptional," she said, smoking a cigarette on the grass outside the gymnasium. "If we didn't have our houses to worry about, it would be wonderful."
Butler, who moved to Fallbrook in 1999, hoped to return to her house on Tuesday. But she was less optimistic that authorities would deliver relief anytime soon. "They're making all these promises," she said. "We'll see how quick they can make them come true."
--Brandon Miller-de la Cuesta
Fire can be seen up and down a hillside across Interstate 5 from the San Onofre nuclear power plant in northern San Diego County. Some flames are creeping under the large power lines -- some of which feed into Camp Pendleton -- that stretch from the Oceanside generating plant, operated by Southern California Edison.
Farther south, flames can be seen on both sides of the freeway, which remains open.
-- Sonia Nazario
Lake Arrowhead:
When Elliott Gotfredson, 33, and his girlfriend of two years, Kimberly Trzcinski, 38, returned from a brief evacuation Tuesday and find their three-story, $1,500-a-month rented house still standing, they prepared to bed down without electricity, heat or clean water. So they lit the fireplace.
"I was freezing cold," Trzcinski said. "And the fire (which destroyed the next-door neighbor's house) was gone, so I thought it'd be OK to do it. Soon after, I had like the whole fire department out here knocking on my door."
Officials didn't tell them to leave then. But sheriff's deputies came by Wednesday morning and ordered them out.
They stayed. They have running water now, "but it's like mud," Trzcinski said.
"I feel like we're helping guard the neighborhood," Gotfredson said as Trzcinski watered down some smoking areas in their yard. "We know the dangers of fires but we moved up here keeping that in mind. It's now just like camping, but all indoors."
-- Francisco Vara-Orta
Hamilton Truck Trail:
Two days ago Gary Summers saw puffs of smoke from the Santiago fire over the ridge near his home. Summers had fought countless house fires before he retired after 29 years with the Santa
Ana Fire Department. Now, he prepared to frantically defend his own home, the last house perched on the hillside here.
At 8 a.m., firefighters set a back-burn on the hillside next to his home. By midday, flames were dangerously close to his house. Summers paced his redwood deck, a garden hose in one hand, a cordless phone in the other taking calls from old friends and fire buddies asking if he was still there. He told them he felt "like a smoked ham."
"It looks like just a little bunker here now, my house is the only thing that hasn't burned, everything else is destroyed," he said.
As the fire approached on all sides and helicopter after helicopter made water drops, they asked for Summer's permission to cut down bushes and trees outside his house. "Cut it all down, anything you want," he replied.
The fire appeared to move on. He appraised his scorched four-acre property. Thirty years before, he had built his own wooden-framed home. "This house could be in these ashes, too."
-- Tony Barboza
California state campground reservations have been canceled, as various parks offer refuge to fire evacuees, officials said. Refunds are available from ReserveAmerica. All cancellations are through Oct. 31, unless otherwise noted.
The official list follows:
Los Angeles County
Leo Carrillo State Park – Reservations canceled October 21-25.
Malibu Creek State Park – Reservations canceled October 21-25.
Pt. Mugu State Park – Reservations canceled October 21-25
Topanga State Park
Will Rogers State Historic Park
Orange County
Crystal Cove State Park – Cottages open. Reservations canceled at campsites.
Riverside County
Lake Perris: Reservations honored, no new reservations taken. No boating. Oct. 23-31
Mount San Jacinto State Park: Reservations canceled
San Timoteo Canyon
San Bernardino County
Chino Hills State Park
Silverwood Lake State Recreation Area – Reservations canceled October 22-30.
Wildwood Canyon
San Diego County
Cuyamaca Rancho State Park – Reservations canceled
Palomar Mountain State Park – Reservations canceled
San Elijo State Beach – Reservations canceled
San Onofre State Beach – Reservations canceled at the San Mateo Campground, only
San Pasqual Battelfield State Historic Park
Silver Strand State Beach – Reservations canceled
South Carlsbad State Beach - Reservations canceled
Torrey Pines State Reserve
Orange County
Doheny State Beach - Reservations canceled
San Clemente State Beach - Reservations canceled
The arson suspect killed by police Tuesday night in San Bernardino is described as a 27-year-old man whose home is listed in Arizona. Sheriff's investigators will search his impounded pickup truck when they obtain a search warrant, Lt. Scott Patterson of the San Bernardino Police Department said this afternoon.
The man was shot after fleeing police and trying to ram their cruisers, authorities said. He had been spotted in deep brush behind Cal State San Bernardino.
No additional information, including his identity, will be released until Thursday.
-- Hector Becerra
Live Oak Canyon:
Bob Heedt lives on the corner of Hunky Dory and Rinky Dink. He is one of the holdouts in this rustic canyon, which firefighters consider a crucial break point in their campaign against the Santiago fire. The fear is if they don't stop it here, the blaze could could run up and over into Trabuco Canyon.
"Our goal is to keep it up in the higher country," said Craig Daugherty, division commander overseeing hotshot crews working the front lines. "We're still nipping and tucking at it. It's going to be this way all day."
"It's all total defense, no offense," he added.
Heedt has a sprawling managerie on his large property, a nice house and several outbuildings. Rusted farming equipment and appliances are scattered about. Tall oaks form a canopy over the land; one even grows up through the house, shading a patio. If you squint, it looks like the Ponderosa Ranch from the old "Bonanza" television series.
Heedt said one of the reasons he stayed is the 50-foot sailboat in the yard, that he's been planning to restore since he bought it in 1976.
"I'm only one here. I won't see this taken away from me," he said.
He's lived on the land for 37 years. He said his wife divorced him because she felt a world away from Los Angeles.
"I'm like a good captain. I'm going down with the ship."
Heedt is a bit of an adventurer. On his living room wall is marlin. There's also a quote on the wall from Rudyard Kipling: "If you can fill the unforgiving minute with 60 seconds worth of distance, run."
"That's what life is all about," he said.
-- Mike Anton
Scripps Ranch:
Jean Boyce's back fence and shrubbery, including a eucalyptus tree, burned in the 2003 Cedar fire. So she and her husband moved in with her in-laws in San Diego when the order came Monday to evacuate her home on Loire Avenue in Scripps Ranch.
"I put my good china and silverware in the Jacuzzi and left. I shoved some important papers in three or four bags and took that with me," said Boyce, who returned Tuesday. "We came real close to losing our house four years ago. My husband and I weren't going to take any chances."
Boyce's neighbors on either side did not leave, even though the evacuation order was mandatory. One of the neighbors, who asked not to be identified, said a group of teenagers saved her house in 2003 by spraying the burning roof with a garden hose.
"The last time we left we were locked out for four days. It was terrible not knowing if our house was still standing," the neighbor said. "This time we decided to stay. If it was just our fence burning we could put it out. But we knew that if the fire was as bad as in 2003 we would have to leave."
Paul Devincenzo's house, at the corner of Loire Avenue and Loire Court, was one of two houses burned to the ground in 2003. On Monday, he and his wife did not waste any time leaving .
But he was ambivalent. They moved into another residence he owns in San Diego and returned Tuesday afternoon.
"In 2003, we saw our house burning on television. Every other house was standing but ours and one house around the corner on Loire Court," Devincenzo said. "This time we evacuated with mixed feelings. You know the danger of staying behind, but you also want to stay and do something to save your house."
-- H.G. Reza
Spring Valley:
Near the front lines of the Harris fire in San Diego this morning, officials said they were going to do what they could with available resources. By 10 a.m. more than 73,000 acres had burned, 200 structures were destroyed and another 250 damaged. One DC-10 and 17 helicopters were on site, officials said. About 4,500 residents remained under evacuation orders.
CDF Capt. Scott McClean said calmer winds had helped the 1,200 firefighters on the frontline but extremely low humidity and high temperature continued to be worrisome.
"Those 1,200 personnel are a little less than a third of what we need to fight a fire this big," said CDF Capt. Scott McLean. "They're tired ... they've got a long road to go as well."
At an evacuation center and makeshift command post at Steele Canyon High School, McLean said fire was still threatening structures along Highway 94 from Jamul to the east to Jamacha on the west. Overnight, Lyons Peak burned and the blaze jumped a perimeter control line set up by firefighters.
McClean said firefighters were struggling to stay on top of small spot fires that were continuing to flare up even in areas that they had already cleared.
George Broyles, a U.S. Forest Service spokesman, said wind conditions had improved enough to permit airplane and helicopters to make effective water and fire retardant drops. But he said competing winds from the east and west were creating swirling patterns in the fire zone, further complicating firefighting efforts and making it difficult for those on the frontlines to predict which direction the fire was heading.
Officials said areas that remained under evacuation orders were: Potrero, Barrett Junction, Engineer Springs, Dulzura, Deerhorn Valley, Tecate, Indian Springs, Jamul North Jamul, and the "Point" in Spring Valley.
Inside the gym, a couple of hundred evacuees crowded around. Some teenagers played cards on the bleachers. Outside, residents camped in the parking lot, some with dogs tied to their trucks.
-- Ari Bloomekatz
The wildfires have raged in some of the richest areas of the state's avocado crop, including the foothills above Irvine in Orange County and Fallbrook and Valley Center in San Diego County.
Based on early reports, an official with the California Avocado Commission said the state has likely lost 10% to 20% of what was expected to be a $325 to $350 million crop this year.
But Guy Witney, the commission’s director of industry affairs said most of the trees probably survived.
One fire, he said, passed through the through a 1,000-acre grove in the Irvine Ranch, burning the only the first two rows of trees, irrigation piping and leaves on the ground, before jumping into the brush on the far side of the orchard.
Jerome Stehly, who farms 1,000 acres of avocados in Fallbrook, Bonsall and Valley Center, said his orchards had escaped damage. He estimates that other farmers in the region had lost at least 200 acres of trees to the fire, but cautioned that it was still too early to collect solid data.
“It is hard to see how much has been lost so far. The fire has hop-scotched around,” Stehly said.
-- Jerry Hirsch
San Diego:
Six undocumented Mexican immigrants were arrested today by U.S. Border Patrol agents at Qualcomm Stadium, after a report that they were stealing food and water meant for evacuees, according to spokesman Damon Foreman.
San Diego police responded to a call about alleged theft from the evacuation center and encountered six people in a van who didn't speak English and didn't have California driver's licenses, Foreman said. The police officers called the Border Patrol, who arrived at the stadium and made the arrests, he said. Foreman said the immigrants admitted they were Mexican citizens and that they were stealing.
Border Patrol agents are not looking for illegal immigrants at the center but will continue responding to police calls for assistance.
"We are not in any means at Qualcomm for enforcement capacity," he said. "We are not there to take advantage of a situation."
Foreman said the agents have been helping in the evacuation and rescue effort in addition to carrying out their main duties.
"We are dedicated to our primary mission to securing our borders," he said.
-- Anna Gorman
With the embers still hot, San Diegans are beginning to talk about rebuilding burned-out neighborhoods.
The county Board of Supervisors moved today to lift building fees for anyone rebuilding a home destroyed or damaged by the Witch Creek, Harris, Rice, or Poomacha fires, or any of the lesser blazes. Permit processes will be expedited.
"We're going to do everything possible to put the tools in their hands to get started," said Supervisor Ron Roberts, chairman of the county Board of Supervisors.
But, as the rebuilding process after the 2003 Cedar and Paradise fires showed, with rebuilding comes rebuilding scams and unscrupulous charities.
Dist. Atty. Bonnie Dumanis warned of debris-clearing scams, price gouging, phony movers, bogus charities, manipulative insurance adjustors, and unlicensed, unbonded contractors.
"Some individuals use this time of crisis to take advantage of others," Dumanis said.
-- Tony Perry
Lake Arrowhead:
With winds diminishing and relative humidity climbing, fire authorities in the San Bernardino Mountains today shifted their strategy from protecting structures to hammering two major fires in the Lake Arrowhead area with air tankers and fire breaks.
"We're not ignoring structures, but the big focus today is on perimeter control," said Pat Farrell, planning section chief of the Inter-disciplinary Incident Management Team, which was stationed at Rim of the World High School along Highway 18 between Lake Arrowhead and Big Bear Lake. Hundreds of homes already have been destroyed in Running Springs and Grass Valley.
"We would like the Grass Valley fire contained and out of our hair; we're going to put a lasso around it," Farrell said. "The Slide fire is more complex and moving in different directions."
Valerie Meyers, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said the relatively benign weather conditions would continue through the weekend, when drizzle and light showers were possible.
Positive changes in the weather today included brutal Santa Ana conditions giving way to mild sea breezes from the west, raising relative humidity levels to above 30 percent, reducing the threat of fire and making existing blazes more manageable.
In the meantime, utility crews were roaming the mountains securing power lines and turning off gas mains. The Rim of the World High School became a bustling staging grounds for earthmovers, fire engines and hand crews streaming in all day long from fires dying down elsewhere.
High school classrooms and administrative offices had been taken over by fire behavior analysts, damage assessment teams and fire chiefs. who were assigning endless rounds of air assaults to fires just south of Running Springs, which claimed a few more homes Tuesday night.
Also today, fire authorities came under intense criticism from some residents of Green Valley Lake, about 10 miles to the east, who accused them of abruptly pulling firefighters out of the community Monday night.
The authorities "said screw this place and ran," said Robert Neville, 27, a former U.S. Forest Service employee. "They said it was a tactical decision because it was too dangerous. But it wasn't that dangerous. If we'd had more help we could've saved more homes."
Green Valley Lake was particularly hard hit by the Slide fire, losing at least 55 homes and two commercial businesses, including a lumber yard. At least 41 homes were lost along Angeles Drive alone.
"We were getting hit full flame at 7 p.m. Monday. But by 10 p.m. the firefighters were gone," he said, "It was just me and my dad, a former fire chief here, trying to fight the fire by ourselves with garden hoses. My neighbors are in tears."
In an interview, Farrell said, "It is an emotional issue, and it goes with the territory. But we cannot afford to put people in a position where we cannot cover them."
-- Louis Sahagun
Riverside:
A third fire broke out in Riverside County shortly before 1 a.m. Wednesday, fire officials said. The blaze in the Wildemar area joins the Rosa fire in Temecula, which investigators determined was intentially set, and the Rocha fire.
Riverside County Fire Capt. Justin Scribner said investigators the department has set a hotline (1 800 633-2836) for information about possible arson in the Rosa fire. The blaze, which broke out at 11 p.m. Monday, has charred 411 acres. No property damage or injuries were reported.
The Rocha Fire in Aguanga, in southeastern Riverside County, broke out Sunday and destroyed one mobile home, before firefighers brought it under control Monday.
-- Andrew Blankstein
Qualcomm Stadium:
Wednesday morning found thousands of evacuees at Qualcomm Stadium unsure if they should remain or venture home.
"Everything is so up in the air," said Jordan Jones, a 17-year-old high school senior from Rancho Bernardo. Jones and other family members -- father Jeff, mother Sue, and brother Trevor -- slept in a tent in the stadium parking lot Tuesday night after evacuating their home a day earlier.
Jeff Jones tried to call neighbors to see if they had been given the green light to return to their neighborhood. His wife argued that the family should pack up and go home, but he worried that they might get turned back.
After a moment he thought about it and said, "To heck with this place. It's nice but I want to go home. I want to get back to my life. I want to get back to work. I'm a landscaper, so unfortunately this means I'll be very busy for a long time."
Jones made two attempts on Monday to return to his neighborhood, once to save his neighbor's Boston terrier, named Buttons. When he arrived at his neighbor's house, all that remained was a red brick pathway leading up to the dwelling. Buttons was nowhere to be found.
"He's gone," Jones said.
-- Alex Pham.
Cal Fire officals agreed to add 14 military aircraft, including water-dropping helicopters and C-130 warplanes, to the fire fights in Lake Arrowhead and San Diego.
They initially had insisted that each helicopter carry a state fire spotter, but later agreed to let the entire fleet fly with a single spotter in the lead. The agreement came after Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-El Cajon) intervened Tuesday night, according to Hunter’s spokesman Joe Kasper.
The fleet includes eight Marine helicopters and six Air Force National Guard C-130 planes from Colorado, Wyoming and North Carolina.
A Canadian Martin Mars water bomber also is expected this afternoon, San Diego fire officials said. The plane can land on water, lift and drop 7,200 gallons in one trip, enough to douse three acres, Messer said.
NASA also is supplying an Ikhana unmanned plane equipped with a thermal-infrared imaging system that can track and map hotspots through dense smoke, the agency said. NASA personnel on the ground will gather images of fires from Lake Arrowhead to southern San Diego County, then relay them to firefighters on the ground.
-- Molly Hennessy-Fiske
Modjeska Canyon:
Linda Wheeler, 59, and her husband Steve, 53, haven't seen their house on the back of Modjeska Canyon since 1:30 a.m. yesterday. But gathered with neighbors at a Santiago Canyon Road checkpoint, where deputies had stopped them from returning home, they heard that the house likely had been saved.
"We were sure our house was going to be lost. To hear otherwise is such a relief," Linda Wheeler said.
As the neighbors swapped stories, Linda remarked that she was "here partly for the camaraderie." Last night, they spent the night at her daughter's house in Orange, but Linda said she was restless.
"When you feel like your home is likely in danger, all you want to do is be there. It's a strange feeling."
She recalled thinking, "That smoke could be what's left of my great-grandmother's table that I didn't have a chance to take with me."
-- Tony Barboza
Amid worries of new blazes adding to the firestorm already afflicting the region, a man who set a brush fire in Hesperia was arrested today 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 Wednesday that they did not know whether either of the men 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 Hesperia blaze in the arson case was quickly extinguished by spectators.
At least one of the huge wildfires, the Rosa fire in Temecula, was described as the work of an arsonist, investigators have said.
The confrontation that ended in the shooting death started around 6 p.m. Tuesday when San Bernardino university police spotted a man in a rural area of flood channels and scrub near the campus. University police tried to detain the man, but he got into his car and fled, authorities said.
"We don't know whether he was an arsonist," said Lt. Scott Patterson of the San Bernardino Police Department, which joined the pursuit. "What was related by the Cal State police was that they tried to contact him as a suspicious person in a brush area. Things being how they are, there was a suspicion that he could be an arsonist."
The area near the campus had been affected by the massive Old Fire of 2003, Patterson said, adding that "it's very fire-prone. It's an area that would be very devastated if a fire were to start there."
The man, whose identity has not been released, drove north on Waterman Avenue and up a dirt fire road up into the foothills. When officers tried to take him into custody, the man began to ram officers' vehicles, Patterson said. Officers shot and killed him.
"Both agencies' officers fired," said University Police Chief Jimmie Brown, who added that they didn't know who fired the fatal shot. "But right now, we don't know too much more."
The shooting is being investigated by the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department, which is routine for officer-involved shootings.
About three hours later in Hesperia, a man was seen by a female motorist squatting along the side of Highway 173 just south of Arrowhead Lake Road. Sheriff's officials say John Alfred Rund, 48, of Hesperia had just started a fire along the flat, isolated scrubby road.
The woman called police, and soon Highway Patrol and sheriff's deputies were looking for the suspect, who witnesses said took off on a Honda motorcycle, wearing a red-and-white striped helmet.
Four residents of the area grabbed shovels and put out the brush fire with dirt, said sheriff's spokeswoman Jodi Miller.
A CHP helicopter, using infrared equipment, caught sight of Rund on his motorcycle, Miller said. Along with CHP officers, sheriff's deputies found and arrested Rund at a home along Highway 173 near Highway 138, she said.
He is being held on $750,000 bail on suspicion of arson, and is due in court tomorrow at Victorville Superior Court. Rund is unemployed, Miller said.
"He has not been connected in anyway so far with any fire up on the hill," she said. "We don't know at this point what started that fire."
The fires bearing down on Southern California have closed popular tourist destinations, state parks and national forests in the region. The state’s record number of emergency evacuees — perhaps more than 800,000 — means travelers heading to affected areas may find it’s not business as usual.
Hotels from around the area are reaching out to evacuees who need a place to stay by offering reduced rates.
The U.S. Grant Hotel in downtown San Diego reports that one-half to one-third of their guests are local evacuees but says it will honor all regular bookings, said manager Mark Dibella. He said even the hotel’s owners — members of the Sycuan Indian tribe — have come to stay after being evacuated from their reservation.
The 97-year-old hotel has reduced room rates for evacuees — from $300 per night down to $165 to $250, depending on the type of suite needed — and relaxed their policy on pets. "It’s Noah’s ark here," said Dibella, noting guests are now allowed to bring large dogs, fish, birds and other pets. "We are not turning away anybody in need of keeping their pet with them." The hotel also reduced the per-pet rate from $150 to $50. Contact the hotel at www.usgrant.net or call (800) 237-5029.
-- Mary Forgione, Jane Engle and Valli Herman
Information from June Iljana, a spokeswoman for CAL FIRE:
The Witch fire (Poway) has burned through 196,000 acres and threatens 5,000 homes, 1,500 businesses, 300 outbuildings. So far the destruction tally includes 805 homes, 100 businesses, 50 outbuildings and 375 homes. About 75 businesses and 50 outbuildings have been damaged. There are 1,841 firefighters, 12 of whom have been injured, on the incident, which has cost $2.3 million.
In the Harris fire (southern San Diego County), one person is dead and 32 injured, including seven firefighters. It has burned through 73,000 acres, destroyed about 200 homes and damaged 250. It is 10% contained but currently threatens 1,500 homes in communities including Chula Vista, San Diego, San Miguel, Potrero, Barrett Junction, Barrett Lake, Engineer Springs, Dulzura, Deer Horn Valley, Lawson Valley, Jamul, Lyons Valley, and homes along Millar Ranch Road. About 4,500 people have been evacuated, 1,211 firefighters are assigned here and the fire has cost $2.5 million to fight thus far.
The Poomacha fire (northeastern San Diego County) has burned through 25,000 acres and is not contained; this morning, it had reached Highway 76 in the Pauma Valley. About 2,000 homes are threatened with 50 homes already destroyed. Evacuations were in progress along the Highway 76 corridor as well as in the communities of Valley Center, Rincon, Pauma Valley, Hidden Meadows, Deer Springs, Vista and Palomar, which are all threatened. There have been 10 firefighters injured and about 659 firefighters worked the blaze.
The Ammo fire is burning on Camp Pendleton. It is one of two blazes on the base; the other is the Wilcox fire. The Ammo fire reached 7,500 acres and is 50% contained. It shut down I-5 southbound at Basilone and northbound at Las Polgas due to smoke and downed power lines. [Southbound lanes later reopened.] No info on Wilcox fire yet.
The Rice fire (Temecula) has burned 7,500 acres in Rice Canyon and is about 10% contained. Around 206 homes, two businesses and 40 outbuildings have been destroyed and 1,500 homes are threatened. About 35,000 people have been evacuated from Fallbrook and Deluz canyons. Camp Pendleton and Oceanside are threatened and there has been one firefighter injury. There were 723 firefighters working the blaze.
-- Tami Abdollah
Los Angeles Times staff writer Janet Wilson was among those evacuated from Orange County's Modjeska Canyon. After a fretful night, she returns today to see if her home survived. Follow her trip.
Mandatory evacuation orders have been lifted for northeastern Rancho Bernardo; neighborhoods west of Poway; Carmel Valley; and Del Mar highlands.
Voluntary evacuations are over in Otay Mesa and Paradise Hills.
THe number of refugees at Qualcomm Stadium has dropped to 2,000.
Cook's Corner:
Firefighters say they're not going to let the fire cross Live Oak Canyon Road near Old Stage Road, north of Cook's Corner. Flames approached within 100 yards of the road this morning. Firefighters set backfires, which lit up the sky. North of the backfires, dozens of firefighters are standing guard to save a large house with a wraparound deck on an outcropping. The fire appears to have crossed into Cleveland National Forest. OCFA Fire Capt. Dave Ferdig said the goal is to protect homes in nearby Hamilton Truck Trail. "We're trying to use natural breaks such as this road," he said. "We're trying to keep it away from that housing tract. I'm not so worried about the national forest." Winds are mild and the smoke is billowing more vertically than horizontally.
-- Mike Anton and Tony Barboza
San Bernardino:
A man was arrested in San Bernardino for starting a brush fire Tuesday night that was quickly extinguished by bystanders, officials said.
John Alfred Rund, 48, of Hesperia was booked on suspicion of arson early this morning, said San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department spokeswoman Cindy Beavers.
CHP officers responded to a call about 8:50 p.m. Tuesday night of a brush fire started along Highway 173 south of Arrowhead Lake Road, Beavers said.
When they arrived on scene, four people were attempting to put out the brush fire using shovels and dirt.
Witnesses said they had seen a man squatting near the origin of the fire. They said he left on a Honda motorcycle, wearing a red-and-white striped helmet, Beavers said.
After an aerial search using infrared equipment, the motorcyclist was located, interviewed and arrested.
Sheriff's investigators are trying to determine whether Rund is connected to any other fire in San Bernardino County.
Anyone with information is requested to call sheriff's dispatch at (909) 387-8313, or (800) 78-CRIME and remain anonymous.
-- Tami Abdollah
Washington, D.C.:
President Bush today declared a major disaster in California, which allows people affected by the fires to begin to receive federal grants for temporary housing, home repairs and low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses.
Bush met this morning at the White House with his cabinet and afterward told reporters: "I believe the effort is well coordinated. I know we’re getting the manpower and assets on the ground that have been requested by the state and local authorities."
Speaking in the Cabinet Room, the president said Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger told him that the state was receiving the federal help it needed. "I assured him that if he needs anything, then, great, we’ll provide it, we’ll do so," he said.
Saying they have learned the lessons of Hurricane Katrina, White House officials have tried to quickly respond to the wildfire emergency in Southern California quickly.
-- Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar and James Gerstenzang
Lake Forest and Irvine:
Firefighters reported the 19,200-acre Santiago fire threatening Orange County’s rural canyons abutting the Cleveland National Forest is 50% contained. The announcement marked the first time since the arson fire’s ignition on Sunday that authorities have reported significant progress in hemming in the fire, which is still threatening thousands of homes and the national forest.
Nine homes and eight other buildings are confirmed destroyed, and eight homes and 12 buildings are damaged, though this number is expected to rise and additional homes appeared to be ablaze this morning. Modjeska Canyon suffered the brunt of the destruction.
-- Seema Mehta
Carlsbad:
The San Diego County medical examiner's office reported a fifth death of an evacuee Wednesday.
James Sharp, 64, a resident of La Costa Glen nursing home in Carlsbad, died Tuesday, a day after being evacuated from his nursing home to Alvarado Hospital. After his arrival at Alvarado, his condition rapidly deteriorated, said Rick Poggemeyer, operations administrator at the medical examiner's office. Sharp had suffered multiple fractures of his cervical spine after a fall on Oct. 12. His cause of death is pending.
-- Charles Ornstein
Ventura County:
Ventura County authorities today lifted evacuation orders for Piru and Fillmore residents theatened by the Ranch fire and for residents northeast of Simi Valley briefly threatened by the Magic fire.
As of 6 a.m., the Ranch fire, which started late Saturday near Castaic, had burned 51,337 acres and was 45% contained. The acreage is down slightly from earlier reports because of more accurate mapping, Ventura County fire officials said. Calmer winds and an aggressive aerial assault on the brush fire Tuesday and overnight stopped the fire's progress, officials said. Residents of about 2,000 households in Piru and Fillmore had been ordered to leave, but many stayed put, opting to watch the hillsides for signs of advancing flames.
A second advisory went out late Monday to residents of canyon homes northeast of Simi Valley because of the Magic fire, which started near Stevenson Ranch on Monday afternoon. Firefighters kept the southern front three miles from the Ventura County line. The blaze is 93% contained, and full containment is expected by 8 p.m., Ventura County authorities said.
"The Magic fire is really closing down. We think that fire is going to be over by tonight," said Ventura County Fire Department spokesman Bill Nash. "We've managed to slow the Ranch fire significantly, with an assist from Mother Nature. Today we are in there with everything we've got: helicopters, bulldozers, hand crews and backfiring operations."
-- Catherine Saillant
Lake Arrowhead:
As of this morning, more than 1,000 acres had burned in the Grass Valley area near Lake Arrowhead, said Tom Kempton, spokesman for the California Interagency Management Team, a coalition of state and local fire agencies. So far, 113 homes have burned, and damage assessment teams are roaming through the area, tallying structural damage.
"The decrease in wind expected today will allow us to start containing the fires," Kempton said. The forecast is looking favorable, and that would coincide with additional resources expected today, he said.
There are more than 560 firefighters on the scene and 150 more expected later today, he said.
In the Slide fire around Running Springs, more than 200 homes and three other structures have been destroyed, authorities | |
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