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U.S. NEWS Monday 9 July 2018

Wildfires rage through California amid heat rage

By JOHN ANTCZAK Durtschi, his wife and six gradually ease through
Associated Press children had left Utah and the weekend, but the un-
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Fire- moved in just a few weeks stable air mass unleashed
fighters toiled in stifling heat ago. He said he hadn’t yet downpours that triggered
Saturday on the lines of de- told his two oldest children flash-flood warnings for the
structive wildfires across the their home was gone. He mountains northeast of Los
U.S. West, making progress managed to collect his Angeles.
against some blazes while severely burned vintage Further up north and just
struggling to tame others guns, hoping to salvage south of the California-Ore-
that have forced evacua- them. gon border, the 34-square-
tions of hundreds of homes. A neighbor’s home across mile (88-square-kilometer)
In heat-stricken Southern the street was spared. The Klamathon Fire in rural Siski-
California, powerful winds man had stayed through you County was just 5 per-
that sent an overnight infer- the night spraying down cent contained. The body
no hopscotching through other people’s houses. of a resident was found Fri-
the Santa Barbara County Elsewhere in Southern Cali- day in the ruins of a home, In this Friday, July 6, 2018, photo provided by the Santa Barbara
community of Goleta van- fornia, firefighters increased among 15 destroyed struc- County Fire Department a firefighter puts water on flames at a
ished in the morning, allow- containment of a central tures tallied so far.q home off Fairview Ave., in Goleta, Calif. Associated Press
ing firefighters to extinguish San Diego County fire that
smoldering ruins of an es- rapidly spread over 400
timated 20 structures, in- acres (162 hectares), de-
cluding homes. stroyed 18 structures and
Authorities announced damaged eight, and a
that mandatory evacu- wildfire in the San Bernardi-
ation orders were being no National Forest was
greatly reduced and many holding at 1.5 square miles
of the 2,500 people who (404 hectares) and forced
fled Friday night would be evacuation of about 700
able to return home by late homes in the mountain
afternoon. community of Forest Falls.
County Fire Chief Eric Pe- Fires also burned on the
terson thanked residents for Marine Corps’ sprawling
heeding the call to evacu- Camp Pendleton base in
ate, allowing firefighters to northern San Diego Coun-
focus on fire suppression ty.
rather than rescues. Southern California fires
“There very likely would began erupting Friday as
have been fatalities last strong high pressure over
night had those evacua- the West spawned an epic
tions not occurred,” Peter- heat wave that saw parts
son said. of Los Angeles broil in tem-
The fire’s spread was peratures up to 117 de-
stopped at about 100 grees (47.2 Celsius).
acres (40.5 hectares) in a There was little relief over-
neighborhood where some night.
houses were in ruins while “Temperatures at 8 a.m.
homes next door were in- were ridiculously over 100
tact. degrees” in foothills near
Eric Durtschi stood outside Forest Falls and many in-
his destroyed house, where land valleys, the National
a burned-out car stood in Weather Service said.
the driveway and kids’ bi- Forecasters said the re-
cycles were strewn about. gion’s siege of heat would