Oct 14, 2008 2:41 am US/Pacific
Governor Declares State Of Emergency For Fire Area
LOS ANGELES (AP) ―
Governor Schwarzenegger has declared a state of emergency in Los Angeles and Ventura counties where fierce wind-driven wildfires are threatening homes and triggering frantic evacuations.
Two wildfires in L-A's San Fernando Valley have burned nearly 12,000 acres.
A homeless man has died and another person died in a freeway crash as fire brought traffic to a halt.
More than three dozen mobile homes were destroyed in the Marek Fire in the Sylmar area and 19 structures -- some of them home -- were burned or destroyed in the Sesnon Fire in the Porter Ranch area.
Residents downwind of the Sesnon Fire are being warned to remain alert into the morning.
Winds dropped Monday evening but were roaring back to life overnight with speeds over 60 miles per hour.
Fire officials have alerted other communities to the west in the Ventura County city of Simi Valley and south to Malibu, 20 miles away.
Officials say the fire could burn all the way to the ocean in just a few hours.
(© 2008 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
