Fire-fighters in California have fended off a blaze threatening
more than 3,000 homes in and around the coastal town of Goleta and
are turning their attention to preventing its spread toward the
nearby picturesque city of Santa Barbara, officials said.
Fire crews battling the so-called Gap Fire are holding the line
against the blaze that on Friday had menaced Goleta, a town of
30,000 roughly 160 km north-west of Los Angeles, said Manuel
Madrigal, a spokesman for the federal, state and local fire units
on the scene.
"It's looking really good. The crews are in there cleaning up,
mopping up and looking for hot spots," Madrigal said after a night
in which fire-fighters prevented the blaze from consuming any homes
in and around Goleta despite flames pressing against residential
lots.
Fire crews, backed by 10 airtankers, will now concentrate on rugged
terrain near Goleta to block a potential advance toward Santa
Barbara, said Rolf Larsen, another spokesman for the multi-agency
effort.
"The priority is to put a lot of resources in and order where there
are homes and specifically to the east ... where it could move
toward Santa Barbara," Larsen said.
The area's steep slopes and canyons are filled with dry brush that
in some spots has not burned for a half a century.
Officials on Friday declared the Gap Fire the priority blaze in
California.
The most populous US state has been beset by more than 1,000 wildfires in recent weeks, many sparked by lightning storms.
The cause of the Gap Fire has yet to be determined.
Nearly 1,200 fire-fighters and other personnel have been able to
contain roughly a quarter of the Gap Fire, which has burned 3,382
hectares, and they hope to build on that if so-called "sundowner"
winds do not pick up.
The gusts typically begin in the evening hours. They were mild on
Friday night, giving fire-fighters in Goleta an opportunity to hold
a defensive line.
"At this point we're optimistic," Madrigal said. "But you never
know, mother nature could throw something at us."
Fire crews farther up California's coast battling the Basin Complex
blaze in and around the scenic Big Sur area about 225 km south of
San Francisco also were hopeful the weather may help them.
The blaze has consumed 27,810 hectares in the remote region since
starting on June 21 and it is threatening nearly 1,800 homes.
Mandatory evacuations are in effect.
Fire crews have successfully defended the village of Big Sur but
have been able to contain only five percent of Basin Complex blaze,
which has destroyed about 20 homes.
They are working under extremely hard conditions.
Roads in the Big Sur region are narrow and the area is mountainous with steep inclines running to the Pacific Ocean.
The fire has ample fuel from diseased oak trees, tall grass and
dry brush.
Radio communications have been broken up by the mountainous terrain
so officials have moved their communications centre offshore to a
boat.
A cool, moist weather hugged the Big Sur coast line on Saturday
morning helping firefighting efforts, but it was expected to burn
off and hot weather is forecast for California this coming
week.
"We're hoping the cooling holds on for the day because we're
expecting to get hotter tomorrow," said Rudy Evenson, a spokesman
for fire units working on the Basin complex fire.
