Weekly Hornet

Issue date: 10/24/07 Section: News

Media Credit: Cynthia Aguilar Smoke and fire in Santiago Canyon.

Media Credit: Cynthia Aguilar An emergency vehicle rushes to the fire in Santiago Canyon.

Wildfires currently raging throughout Southern California have forced 500,000 people to evacuate their homes and damaged more than 1,300 residences. More than 300,000 acres have burned.

The evacuation is the largest in California's history, and includes areas from the north of Los Angeles to the Mexican Border. Governor Schwarzenegger said that fires threaten 68,000 more homes.

Many Colleges have been affected by the wildfires. Saddleback, Irvine Valley College, College of the Canyons, Moorepark, San Diego Mesa, San Diego Miramar, Southwestern and Mt. San Jacinto were all closed this week due to diminished air quality. The colleges suggest that students, faculty and employees monitor news radio and TV broadcasts to determine daily conditions at each school. Many were tentatively scheduled to open Wednesday.

Beginning on October 21, Santa Ana winds of an unusually strong nature began to rage across Los Angeles and Orange Counties. The Los Angeles Times reported in an article published on October 22 that those winds reached "hurricane strength." The fires began soon after the winds began to peak, and fire officials have confirmed that the Santiago Canyon fire is an Arson.

According to Fullerton Fire Marshall Julie Kunze, the city is working hard to provide any help that it can. The department sent three units to the Santiago Canyon fire Sunday, and two more yesterday. Each unit is comprised of four men.

"We have five units committed to the Santiago [Canyon] fire," Kunze said. "They're fighting fires and [working on] structure protection."

Fullerton will maintain 20 firefighters with rotated 18-hour shifts.

The devastation around Orange County has also affected Fullerton through the blanket of ash that is a reminder that many people are in fear of losing their homes.

News station KNBC reported that on Monday there were 14 separate fires burning in the Southern California area and over 655 homes had been destroyed.

The Santiago Canyon fire burning in the Foothill Ranch area of Irvine threw ash and clouds of smoke into the air, bathing the county in an orange glow.

In an interview with KNBC, Orange County Fire Authority Chief Chip Prather reported that the Orange County fire was the result of an act of arson. "There were three separate starts: two on one side of the road and one on the other, and obviously we are actively investigating that."

Members of the Lake Arrowhead community affected by the fire have not been as lucky as their neighbors in Orange County. By Tuesday, over 138 homes had been destroyed by two different fires burning in the San Bernardino forest.

Part of the reason it has been so hard for firefighters to fight them is that wind conditions had prevented them from beginning any type of aerial assault on the fires.

The bulk of aerial support arrived yesterday, and fire officials hope that ground units can begin to contain the blazes.
In a report from The Associated Press published on October 22, fire officials claimed that they lose valuable time fighting fires when they are forced to evacuate those who ignore the evacuation orders they are given.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has declared a state of emergency in seven different counties in Southern California. This will enable money to be diverted to help fight these fires as quickly as possible.

"It is a tragic time for California," Schwarzenegger said.

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