Officials reported continued progress Wednesday with California's remaining 33 blazes - down from more than 2,000 in the past month - although fire danger remained high in some rural areas. In Trinity County, the outlying neighborhoods of Junction City are still under mandatory evacuation orders with a large wildfire less than a mile away from the town of about 800, said Mike Johnson, a spokesman with the National Park Service. That fire in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest was about 60 percent contained after burning 93 square miles. Flames around Northern California, which also has led to a handful of evacuations in Shasta, Lake and Mendocino counties, are contributing to air quality problems. Dense smoke has been making for very unhealthy air that likely will go into the hazardous range in Trinity, Humboldt and Siskiyou Counties this week, said Dimitri Stanich, spokesperson for the California Air Resources Board. "People need to seek shelter and avoid exposure," Stanich said. "These levels are damaging even to healthy people." State officials planned to turn gymnasiums and other buildings into "clean air shelters" equipped with air filters to screen out particulate matter in all three counties, he said. Wildfires ignited since June 21 thus far have scorched 1,528 square miles across the state and destroyed 122 homes. In many parts of the state, cooler temperatures and higher humidity have aided firefighters, including those in the Los Padres National Forest near the coast where a widespread blaze was 72 percent contained today. The fire has blackened 216 square miles and burned 26 homes around Big Sur. "Things are really starting to look good," said Daniel Berlant, spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
Thursday, 24 July 2008 01:22
California Making Progress With 33 Remaining Fires
Officials reported continued progress Wednesday with California's remaining 33 blazes - down from more than 2,000 in the past month - although fire danger remained high in some rural areas. In Trinity County, the outlying neighborhoods of Junction City are still under mandatory evacuation orders with a large wildfire less than a mile away from the town of about 800, said Mike Johnson, a spokesman with the National Park Service. That fire in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest was about 60 percent contained after burning 93 square miles. Flames around Northern California, which also has led to a handful of evacuations in Shasta, Lake and Mendocino counties, are contributing to air quality problems. Dense smoke has been making for very unhealthy air that likely will go into the hazardous range in Trinity, Humboldt and Siskiyou Counties this week, said Dimitri Stanich, spokesperson for the California Air Resources Board. "People need to seek shelter and avoid exposure," Stanich said. "These levels are damaging even to healthy people." State officials planned to turn gymnasiums and other buildings into "clean air shelters" equipped with air filters to screen out particulate matter in all three counties, he said. Wildfires ignited since June 21 thus far have scorched 1,528 square miles across the state and destroyed 122 homes. In many parts of the state, cooler temperatures and higher humidity have aided firefighters, including those in the Los Padres National Forest near the coast where a widespread blaze was 72 percent contained today. The fire has blackened 216 square miles and burned 26 homes around Big Sur. "Things are really starting to look good," said Daniel Berlant, spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
