California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has declared a state
of emergency in areas where wildfires continued raging on
Monday.
"It is a tragic time for California," Schwarzenegger said while
on a tour to the San Diego County, more than 100 kilometers south
of Los Angeles.
"I declared a state of emergency under which all resources are
available" for seven counties threatened by raging wildfires across
Southern California, the governor said.
The fast-moving fire driven by strong winds along the rugged
US-Mexico border near San Diego left one person dead and eight
injured, including four firefighters, authorities said.
The San Diego fire has also charred hundreds of hectares of land
and forced the evacuation of 250,000 people, according to county
officials.
In Malibu, outside Los Angeles, a brush fire has scorched nearly
900 hectares of land, destroyed at least five homes and a church,
but no injuries were reported, authorities said.
Despite the hard work of hundreds of firefighters, only 10
percent of the fire was contained on Monday morning, according to
authorities.
The fire, which started Sunday morning, may have been sparked by
downed power lines, said county fire inspector Sam Padilla.
Since then, flames have been whipped at times by Santa Ana winds
gusting up to 60 miles per hour. About 1,400 firefighters were
battling the flames this morning, aided by water-dropping
helicopters.
"It's been a long night," Padilla said.
Winds kicked up overnight and early this morning, making it
difficult for the helicopters to make pin-point drops on flames in
the area.
About 1,500 people were evacuated as the flames tore through
brush and then began jumping from rooftop to rooftop in an area
studded with multimillion-dollar homes.
The Malibu Presbyterian Church was destroyed. Several businesses
in the Malibu Colony Shopping Center were damaged.
Among the homes destroyed was the Kashan Castle, also known as
Hodge Castle, a 10,500-square-foot hilltop landmark built in
1978.The castle was put up for sale in March for US$17 million.
All classes were canceled on Monday at the Pepperdine University
in Malibu. Classes were also canceled at all Malibu public
schools.
Mandatory evacuations were in place for several areas in Malibu.
Officials said they prepared to order more evacuations.
Throughout Southern California, more than 12,000 hectares of
land have already burned, and more areas are threatened.
Schwarzenegger said the wildfires have caused the loss of human
life and serious injuries, but he did not give details.
The governor's emergency proclamation allows the state Office of
Emergency Services (OES) to deploy emergency personnel, equipment
and facilities and provide local government assistance under the
authority of the California Disaster Assistance Act.
"The wildfires are being driven by dry conditions and high
winds, and these conditions are expected to continue for several
days," the governor said.
These wildfires, by reason of their magnitude, are beyond the
control of the services, personnel, equipment and facilities of any
single county, city and county, or city and require the combined
forces of a mutual aid region or regions to combat, he said.
(Xinhua News Agency October 23, 2007)
