Los Angeles News

PARADISE, Calif. (CBS) ― Firefighters say at least one person has been found dead after a wildfire swept through an area near the Northern California town of Concow.

State fire Capt. Scott McLean confirmed the death Friday afternoon, but did not provide any details. He says the person killed was not a firefighter.

Fire officials estimate about 320 fires were still burning in the state this week, including a complex of blazes in Butte County that has forced some 10,000 residents of the town of Paradise to flee.



President Bush will visit California next week to survey the state's raging wildfires. 

White House spokesman Trey Bohn says Bush will arrive in California on Thursday to get a briefing on damages. Bohn did not say where exactly the president would be going.

More than 320 active fires are burning around the state. A total of about 1,700 blazes have been sparked this season, destroying about 100 homes.

Also Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is ordering an additional 2,000 National Guard troops to help battle wildfires around the state.

Firefighters battling a raging wildfire in the Sierra Nevada foothills of northern California caught a break early Friday when strong winds they expected did not immediately materialize. Residents in the Spokane Valley in eastern Washington state fled a fire that destroyed seven homes.

The winds in California were expected to be similar to ones that caused the blaze in Butte County north of Sacramento to flare up earlier this week, destroying about 50 homes and forcing 10,000 residents to evacuate. But they were mild early Friday, CalFire spokesman Fred Orsborn said.

"They were getting little gusts, but nothing like they anticipated," Orsborn said.

Firefighters on Thursday positioned themselves on the banks of the Feather River opposite the town of Paradise, where a wildfire last month forced thousands of evacuations and destroyed 74 homes.

In Washington state, firefighters renewed the battle at daybreak against a wildfire that erupted Thursday in a heavily wooded part of the Spokane Valley, destroying seven homes and one other structure and forcing 200 residents to evacuate.

The National Weather Service said winds would be light Friday, compared to the 50 mph blasts Thursday that sent flames out of control.

Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire said she approved requests by Spokane and Ferry counties for emergency declarations to make state resources available to help fight the fires.

Officials said heavy smoke and tree cover made it difficult to assess the damage from the suburban Spokane wildfire, which remained out of control. The cause of that blaze, which grew to nearly 2 square miles, was not immediately known.

On the state's central coast, a 154-square-mile fire along scenic Big Sur claimed some outbuildings at the historic Tassajara Zen Mountain Center monastery. But the center's director, David Zimmerman, reported on its Web site Thursday evening that the complex had mostly survived.

Authorities had issued new mandatory evacuation orders late Wednesday for about 50 homes along a rugged road leading to the Zen center. But five monks decided to stay and make a stand against the fire. The blaze is about 41 percent contained and has destroyed at least 27 homes.

Down the coast, a separate blaze in the Santa Ynez Mountains near Santa Barbara had blackened more than 15 square miles and was 75 percent contained. And at the southern tip of Sequoia National Forest, 90 miles north of Los Angeles, a 54-square-mile blaze was almost a third contained.

(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)