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A Mill Creek Ranger Station sign is destroyed by fire in California - Source: Reuters -
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Fire fighters took advantage of a
turn in the weather to gain ground against the
enormous wildfire burning for a week above Los Angeles, saying they
now hoped to drive the flames away from historic Mount Wilson, a
key telecommunications site.
But while higher humidity and cooler temperatures helped crews make
their first significant headway against the fire - achieving 22%
containment, up from five percent on Monday - officials warned that
it was too early to believe that they had the upper hand.
The blaze already has charred 51,000 hectares, an area nearly the
size of Chicago, destroyed at least 62 homes, and is still capable
of terrible destruction, fire commander Mike Dietrich said.
Two fire fighters were killed in the fire on Sunday, and at
least three civilians have been injured.
"If I were in a boxing match I think we are even today," Dietrich
said. "This fire still has a lot of potential and it's a very big
animal out there."
The outbreak of wildfires across California was burning through
cash at a rate that alarmed leaders in Sacramento, who are
grappling with a still-growing state budget deficit.
As of Monday, just two months into the fiscal year and before the
state's usual fire season had begun, California had already spent
over half of its annual fire fighting budget.
The Station Fire alone, roaring out of control since last Wednesday
though the San Gabriel Mountains of Angeles National Forest, has
cost $US14 million to fight so far.
A flare-up along the fire's south-western flank still threatened
some foothill neighbourhoods just inside Los Angeles city limits,
and fire commanders said it would probably take another two weeks
to fully contain the blaze.
But with 3,600 people on the fire lines, Dietrich said the overall
growth of the blaze slowed for the first time on Tuesday and that
he was a lot more optimistic.
A very angry fire
"Substantial progress has been made," he said. "The weather has
helped us, certainly. I do not believe that we have totally turned
the corner. The fire has laid down but ... it could be a very angry
fire again."
Officials said that for the first time they were feeling confident
about their ability to save structures atop Mount Wilson, a hub for
broadcast towers and other telecommunications equipment, as well as
home to a historic observatory.
Flames around the peak had eased, and fire crews were sent back to
the site around dawn on Tuesday, days after they were withdrawn for
fear of being engulfed.
Meteorologists say the change in weather was due mostly to wind
patterns pulling in more damp air from northern Mexico and the Baja
region - a phenomenon called monsoonal moisture.
They said there may also be a slight benefit from excess moisture
associated with Hurricane Jimena off Mexico's coast.
"It's huge difference," fire Captain Art Burgess, with a crew
mopping up hot spots near one neighbourhood, said of the higher
humidity.
Residents who stayed put despite evacuation orders looked on as
dozens of fire fighters, backed by bulldozers and an aerial assault
from water-dropping helicopters, quickly halted flames creeping
down a steep slope at the end of their street.
"Boy, they did such a wonderful job," said Carissa Totalca, 55, a
nurse who has lived in the area for years. "I've never seen them in
action before."
The weather change is a mixed blessing, though, posing the
potential for gusty winds and dry lightning strikes that could
ignite new blazes in dense, drought-parched brush. Moist air also
kept smoke from the fire closer to the ground, making it more
difficult to fight with aircraft in some spots.
Police continued to evacuate foothill-area homes on Tuesday,
although fire fighters were able to conduct controlled burns
overnight to push flames back into the forest, and some residents
were allowed to return home.
The cause of the wildfire, the biggest of several burning
throughout the state, remains under investigation.
