Monday, 04 December 2006 00:00

So Cal Fire Rage

Fires over the weekend in Southern California show how fire danger is still present.

The fires in Ventura County near Moorpark have been driven by strong Santa Ana winds and now have destroyed five homes and a storage building. Hundreds of other homes and buildings in canyons and hillsides are still threatened. The blaze has burned about 4,100 acres, or six square miles and CDF officials still list the fire as out of control with 0 percent containment. Fire officials have called for voluntary evacuations and hundreds of residents heeded that advice and packed up valuables and livestock. Several hundred firefighters are finding themselves hampered by 70-mile-an-hour winds. Water-dropping helicopters are also being used. So far, there are no containment figures and no injuries are reported. The causes of the fires are under investigation.