Jun 23, 2008 6:20 am US/Pacific
Cooler Temps Aid California Firefighters
Lightning Starts More Than 500 Fires
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS) ―
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A wildfire spread across Napa County starting on June 21, 2008.
CBS
Cooler weather helped firefighters gain ground on hundreds of wildfires that charred bone-dry terrain across the heart of wine country and remote forests in Northern California.
One fire had spread across nearly 6 square miles in Napa County and quickly moved into a mostly rural area of Solano County. The fire threatened more than 100 buildings as it fed on grassy woodland about 40 miles southwest of Sacramento, said Roger Archey, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire.
It was 35 percent contained Sunday evening and had destroyed one home, officials said. Evacuations were ordered for some residents, said agency spokeswoman Nancy Carniglia.
CBS News affiliate KPIX-TV reports that while cooler temperatures have helped, high winds and lightning have created additional challenges for the fire fighting efforts.
"Because of the rough terrain up there, it's very difficult to establish a very solid line," California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection Battalion Chief David Shew told the station. "Unfortunately as everyone knows, we have lightning strikes that have affected all of Northern California right now, so our resources are at a very thin level."
Firefighters in southern New Mexico, meanwhile, were trying to stop a 43,000-acre wildfire that's destroying grazing allotments since starting in the Lincoln National Forest, a U.S. Forest Service fire information officer said.
Two other lightning-sparked wildfires also have burned nearly 30,000 acres. One was burning west of Roswell in southern New Mexico, and the other was west of Raton in the northern part of the state.
Wildfires have destroyed more than 175 homes in Northern California so far this year. Blazes started popping up in the region just as California's unofficial fire season began in mid-May, following the state's driest two-month period on record.
Two blazes about 25 miles south of San Jose also forced several residents from their homes. The fires covered about 2 square miles. Officials said the fires were 50 percent contained on Sunday, and that most residents would be let back into their homes. The fires were also blamed on lightning.
Thunderstorms were responsible for as many as 75 fires in Shasta-Trinity National Forest, about 160 miles north of Sacramento. None immediately threatened homes, said Forest Service spokesman Michael Odle.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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