From the ArcaMax Publishing, News & Features Newsletter:
http://www.arcamax.com/news/newsheadlines/s-373427-617743
SAN FRANCISCO (UPI) -- Hundreds of people were forced from their homes
Friday by a growing wildfire near Santa Barbara in Southern
California.
The Gap Fire had doubled in size to about 5,000 acres, The New York
Times reported. More than 2,600 home were at risk.
Up the coast in Big Sur, residents complained that attempts to contain
the Basin Complex fires have been ineffective and unsupported, The San
Francisco Chronicle reported. The fires have destroyed three houses
and charred almost 65,000 acres.
"We'd like to see some equipment here. I mean, look around. We're just
not getting anything," resident Dan Priano told the newspaper. "The
firefighters who are here have done great, but they don't have the
resources to fight a fire this size."
Leanne Langeberg, the information officer for the firefighting
agencies tackling the blaze, said a growing number of wildfires across
California have caused supplies to become thin and more vital where
they are available.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger dispatched 400 National Guard members to
fight scores of fires still burning in Northern California.
Robert Roland, 63, Thursday became the first firefighter killed in
California this year. Roland, a volunteer, collapsed while serving as
a lookout on one of the northern fires.