Cebu_4_2
8th February 2015, 06:10 PM
Containment up on fire that destroyed 40 homes in California
http://l.yimg.com/os/152/2012/04/21/image001-png_162613.png (http://www.ap.org/) By MICHELLE RINDELS 3 hours ago
http://l1.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/sKmWUcf0xTo6CqtmpEOb4w--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTM3NztpbD1wbGFuZTtweG 9mZj01MDtweW9mZj0wO3E9NzU7dz02NzA-/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/ap_webfeeds/c9f0333a49888c066d0f6a7067001372.jpg (http://news.yahoo.com/progress-made-california-wildfire-destroyed-40-homes-082641501.html#)
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This image provided by Jim Stimson shows the Round fire burning at Wheeler Crest near Bishop Calif. Friday Feb. 6, 2015. Firefighters have gained the upper hand on a wind-driven wildfire that destroyed 40 homes, burned nearly 11 square miles and forced about 150 people to leave two small California towns at the eastern base of the Sierra Nevada. (AP Photo/Jim Stimson via CalFire)
CROWLEY LAKE, Calif. (AP) — Fire crews increased containment of a wind-driven wildfire that destroyed 40 homes, but they said Sunday that they still didn't know when residents evacuated from two small California towns at the eastern base of the Sierra Nevada would be able to return home.
Dozens of power poles have come down in the communities of Swall Meadows and Paradise, creating hazards for the roughly 250 residents who have been evacuated, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection Capt. Liz Brown said. Crews were assessing trees in the two communities on Sunday to ensure they wouldn't come down.
"We would love to shoot for today, but I don't know," Brown said of the prospect of lifting evacuation orders. "Once it's open, it's open. We don't have the resources to escort people in and escort them out."
The fire started near a highway on the border of Inyo and Mono counties Friday afternoon. It blew up when 50 to 75 mph winds whipped through wooded areas near the two communities for about three hours, turning the flames into a "freight train," Brown said.
Swall Meadows was hit hard by the blaze — 39 homes were destroyed there while one burned in the community of Paradise, Brown said.
Firefighters made progress after rain moved in, and they have since contained 65 percent of the 11-square-mile blaze.
But Brown said the rain hasn't been enough to completely put out the fire. A three-year drought across California has created extremely dry timber brush that fueled the flames and pushed them all the way up the Sierra slopes to the snow line around 8,000 feet, she said.
The cause of the fire was under investigation.
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http://l.yimg.com/os/152/2012/04/21/image001-png_162613.png (http://www.ap.org/) By MICHELLE RINDELS 3 hours ago
http://l1.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/sKmWUcf0xTo6CqtmpEOb4w--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTM3NztpbD1wbGFuZTtweG 9mZj01MDtweW9mZj0wO3E9NzU7dz02NzA-/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/ap_webfeeds/c9f0333a49888c066d0f6a7067001372.jpg (http://news.yahoo.com/progress-made-california-wildfire-destroyed-40-homes-082641501.html#)
View photo
This image provided by Jim Stimson shows the Round fire burning at Wheeler Crest near Bishop Calif. Friday Feb. 6, 2015. Firefighters have gained the upper hand on a wind-driven wildfire that destroyed 40 homes, burned nearly 11 square miles and forced about 150 people to leave two small California towns at the eastern base of the Sierra Nevada. (AP Photo/Jim Stimson via CalFire)
CROWLEY LAKE, Calif. (AP) — Fire crews increased containment of a wind-driven wildfire that destroyed 40 homes, but they said Sunday that they still didn't know when residents evacuated from two small California towns at the eastern base of the Sierra Nevada would be able to return home.
Dozens of power poles have come down in the communities of Swall Meadows and Paradise, creating hazards for the roughly 250 residents who have been evacuated, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection Capt. Liz Brown said. Crews were assessing trees in the two communities on Sunday to ensure they wouldn't come down.
"We would love to shoot for today, but I don't know," Brown said of the prospect of lifting evacuation orders. "Once it's open, it's open. We don't have the resources to escort people in and escort them out."
The fire started near a highway on the border of Inyo and Mono counties Friday afternoon. It blew up when 50 to 75 mph winds whipped through wooded areas near the two communities for about three hours, turning the flames into a "freight train," Brown said.
Swall Meadows was hit hard by the blaze — 39 homes were destroyed there while one burned in the community of Paradise, Brown said.
Firefighters made progress after rain moved in, and they have since contained 65 percent of the 11-square-mile blaze.
But Brown said the rain hasn't been enough to completely put out the fire. A three-year drought across California has created extremely dry timber brush that fueled the flames and pushed them all the way up the Sierra slopes to the snow line around 8,000 feet, she said.
The cause of the fire was under investigation.
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