News- Big California wildfire still a potential threat to rural homes

Thursday, July 19, 2007

News- Big California wildfire still a potential threat to rural homes

Bobonit News Blog - News - Big California wildfire still a potential threat to rural homes
San Jose Mercury News -

Big California wildfire still a potential threat to rural homes

The Associated Press

LOS OLIVOS, Calif.—California firefighters were working Thursday to keep at least two stubborn blazes around the state from spreading toward homes tucked in rugged wilderness.

Authorities warned winds could push the state's biggest blaze, dubbed the Zaca fire, toward about 50 rural homes scattered in Los Padres National Forest in the interior of Santa Barbara County.

The fire was about four miles from the Peachtree Canyon community, which remained under an evacuation order, officials said.

'This is a dangerous fire that is capable of advancing several miles in a matter of hours,' U.S. Forest Service supervisor Ken Heffner said.

The fire has burned an area equal to more than 44 square miles, or 28,346 acres. Containment was put at 35 percent.

Temperatures were moderate but firefighters struggled in the steep, roadless terrain of the San Rafael Wilderness northeast of Los Olivos, a town popular with tourists because of its wineries.

Winds were light but were expected to change direction and gust up to 20 mph.

The fire was heading toward areas of chaparral, oak and pine that last burned 40 years ago.

'It's gob"

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How fires get their names

Every year in California thousands of wildfires start throughout the state. In most cases, the dispatch center sending the initial resources to a wildland fire will designate a name for the fire, but the first on scene engine or fire official can also name the incident. Fires are usually named for the area in which they start – a geographical location, local landmark, street, lake, mountain, peak, etc. Quickly naming the fire provides responding fire resources with an additional locater, and allows fire officials to track and prioritize incidents by name. For example during the Southern California Fire Siege of 2003, the largest wildland fire in California history, the Cedar Fire in San Diego County, was named after the Cedar Creek Falls area where it started. The destructive Old Fire, which burned during the same time period in San Bernardino County, was named after the road along which it started - Old Waterman Canyon Road.

CAL FIRE is the largest fire department in California and the second largest fire department in the United States. CDF - CAL FIRE Firefighters answer the call more than 300,000 times a year. CAL FIRE Firefighters make up the fire department for 30 of our 58 counties in California and more than 100 local communities. We serve as the incident command during many of California’s most serious disasters. CAL FIRE Firefighters respond to many various types and forms of calls ranging from structural fires, to auto accidents, to earthquakes, to floods, to the spilling of hazardous materials, to every conceivable disaster; CAL FIRE answer's the calls. CAL FIRE is the largest fire department in California and the second largest fire department in the United States . CAL FIRE firefighters protect 33 million acres of State Responsibility Area (SRA). We have over 4,000 members within CAL FIRE and CAL FIRE is associated with the California Professional Firefighters (CPF) and the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF).

CFN - CALIFORNIA FIRE NEWS - CAL FIRE NEWS

Thursday, July 19, 2007