Jul 7, 2008 6:49 am US/Pacific
Warm Weather May Fan Wildfires
LOS ANGELES (AP) ―
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U.S. Forest Service firefighters discuss attack plans on the northern front of the Gap fire, now officially the top priority fire in the state, as hundreds of wildfires burn in central and northern California, on July 5, 2008 near Goleta, Calif. (File)
David McNew/Getty Images
Firefighters in California who got some help from the cooler weather Sunday may not like the forecast in the days ahead.
Temperatures are predicted to climb back into the 90s by later this week. And the moist air currents that kept highs to the upper 70s yesterday are expected to go away.
Nearly 2,700 homes near Goleta in Santa Barbara County were in jeopardy earlier in the weekend, but many of the evacuation orders were lifted or changed to warnings by last night. That's allowed many people to return home. The 15-square-mile wildfire is 30 percent contained.
Wildfires have burned more than 800 square miles of land in California and destroyed about 70 homes in the past two weeks.
One firefighter died of a heart attack while digging fire lines.
The 117-square-mile Big Sur fire is now 11 percent contained thanks partly to cooler weather.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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