Wind fuels raging wildfire in California

A fierce fire moved close to subdivisions east of Los Angeles on Wednesday. People on two streets were evacuated. Hundreds of firefighters worked to contain the blaze, as well as six helicopters and six air tankers. 

|
AP Photo/The Press-Enterprise, Terry Pierson
Flames scorch the hillside north of Banning, Calif., as a brush fire burns in the area Wednesday, May 1, 2013.

A Southern California wildfire fueled by strong winds was raging through 2 1/2 square miles of Riverside County on Wednesday as wind-fanned fires scorched parts of wine country north of San Francisco.

The fast-moving wildfire about 90 miles east of Los Angeles broke out just after noon and was moving westward through largely undeveloped foothills of the San Bernardino Mountains, but it was dangerously close to subdivisions to the south, in Banning.

At least 425 firefighters were working to gain control of the fast-moving fire, which has destroyed one structure, said Jody Hagemann, spokeswoman for the county fire department. Six helicopters and six air tankers were making water drops.

Authorities ordered the evacuation of homes on two streets, but the number of people affected was not immediately known.

Winds of 29 mph were driving the fire, and if they continued, the fire could reach communities in Cherry Valley and Beaumont.

Much of Southern California was under red flag warnings for fire danger due to heat, wind and low humidity levels.

In Northern California, firefighters were battling fires fueled by gusty winds in wine country.

In Sonoma County, the Yellow Fire north of Calistoga was less than half contained after burning 125 acres. The Silverado Fire near Yountville, in Napa County, burned an even smaller area and was 75 percent contained.

State fire spokesman Daniel Berlant said neither fire was threatening structures, but the blazes across of California could be an ominous sign.

"Statewide, our fire activity is up over 60 percent of normal," Berlant said. "It has everything to do with the fact that conditions are so dry, then you add wind, making the perfect conditions for a fire."

Forecasters said high pressure over the Great Basin would send Santa Ana winds through and below passes and canyons and near coastal foothills until Thursday afternoon.

"We're a bit drier than normal at this time and seeing conditions that we would usually see in June," Berlant said. "If this is an indicator of what's to come, then we're going to be in for a very busy fire season."

In Butte County, a fast-moving blaze called the Panther Fire has burned about half a square mile since it was sparked Wednesday morning, state fire officials said.

A fire in the Central Valley county of Madera that burned 274 acres was fully contained.

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

QR Code to Wind fuels raging wildfire in California
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Latest-News-Wires/2013/0501/Wind-fuels-raging-wildfire-in-California
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe