WILDFIRE NEWS OF THE DAY - 111508

With fires breaking out all over Southern California, there was plenty of wildfire news today, leading off with some dramatic raw video footage of firefighters battling the flames, as 500 mobile homes went up in a blaze that was so hot, fire hoses were actually melting while firefighters fought the blaze, as related by the next article. LA was faced with the problem of power outages as fires burned near the I-5 corridor along which the power lines run, and in a scene from Dante's Inferno, a hospital in Sylmar lost power as it was surrounded by cyclonic firestorms and blanketed with smoke and embers. Evacuees from the Tea Fire describe their harrowing experiences of fast-moving flame fronts and security gates that locked them in due to power loss. Residents of Big Sur and the Central Coast recount their harrowing experiences trying to rebuild after July's wildfires, something the folks in today's burn areas will face tomorrow. While residents of San Luis Obispo were watching the Tea Fire on TV, they found out that they had a blaze in their own backyard. Orange County was not spared from the ravages of wind-driven wildfires either, as houses went up in flames and an entire apartment house was engulfed. In the midst of all the major fires, Palos Verdes Peninsula had a small brushfire this morning, but it was quickly snuffed by firefighters, while San Diego had a very small fire (fortunately) to deal with in Valley Center. But San Diego firefighters are beefing up their available assets as that area experiences record-breaking temperatures and wind - always a bad combination. Having already dispatched some firefighters to the Tea Fire, fire stations around Sacramento sent some more south to help with the wildfires in other parts of Southern California, and a day after declaring an emergency for the Santa Barbara area, the governor had to do the same for Los Angeles County. An article in the New York Times questions the virtue of dropping retardant, after the checkered history of fish kills and riparian area restrictions, and Purdue University is embarking on an ambitious 100-year-long study to better understand forest ecosystems, including the role fire plays in forests. Firefighters in balmy San Francisco are nervously watching their wildland areas, and Australian firefighters are doing the same down under, as recounted in the next two articles. And in New Zealand, firefighters are battling a blaze that threatens homes near Wellington.

Firefighters Use Hoses Against Raging Flames in Sylmar

Firefighters battle wind-whipped blaze in Sylmar

Fire threat prompts rolling blackouts in Los Angeles

Power failure brings Sylmar hospital to standstill

Calif. wildfire described as 'terrifying inferno'

Rebuilding After Wildfires

Brush blaze prompts evacuation in SLO

Brush Fire Destroys Homes in Corona, Yorba Linda and Anaheim Hills

Brush Fire in Palos Verdes

VALLEY CENTER: Fire crews knock down 1-acre blaze

Winds accompany record-setting heat

Area Firefighters Head To LA Blaze

Schwarzenegger declares emergency for LA fire

In Fighting Wildfires, Concerns About Chemicals

100-year project to track changes in Ind. forests

Bay Area Firefighters Cautiously Watch Warm Conditions

Emergency authority warns of bushfire danger

Kapiti bushfire sees houses evacuated