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At least 14 killed in California wildfiresFlames destroy 550 homes, threaten thousands more
LA VERNE, California (CNN) -- Wind-whipped wildfires have tormented Southern California from San Diego to suburban Los Angeles, causing 14 deaths, and destroying more than 550 homes and threatening thousands more. Eleven people were reported dead Sunday in a 100,000-acre fire in eastern San Diego County and more deaths were being investigated, Sheriff Bill Kolender said. Two people died inside their car and three on foot while apparently trying to escape, The Associated Press reported. The so-called Cedar fire started Saturday when a hunter lost in the mountains near Julian lit a signal fire, the AP reported authorities as saying. Two other fires in southern and northern areas of the county have torched nearly 20,000 acres. San Diego's fire chief said at least 25,000 acres had been destroyed within the city limits. In the Scripps Ranch area alone, 150 homes have been lost, he said. "Our hearts go out to those who have lost their homes," San Diego Mayor Dick Murphy told reporters Sunday evening. "This fire is so overwhelming, so devastating." Murphy, who surveyed the fire-damaged area by helicopter Sunday, asked residents to reduce their water use to provide more for firefighters. Schools will be closed Monday and "only the most essential services" will be operating. He said the city had asked the National Football League to cancel the Chargers game Monday night against the Miami Dolphins. The NFL decided late Sunday that the game would be moved to Tempe, Arizona. Fast-moving fires have been raging in Southern California since Tuesday, fanned by low humidity and hot Santa Ana winds blowing 30-35 mph and gusting much higher, keeping the fires erratic and unpredictable, and hampering efforts to contain them. Up the coast, fires in the mountains and canyons beyond the eastern suburbs of Los Angeles sometimes hopped fire lines and highways, thwarting firefighters and lighting up homes. Two fires in San Bernardino County once separated by at least 10 miles merged at the intersection of interstates 215 and 15, the main freeway between Los Angeles and Las Vegas, Nevada. The combined "Grand Prix" and "Old" fires created a blaze of about 72,000 acres in the San Bernardino and Angeles national forests and have so far destroyed more than 375 homes. As many as 12,000 homes in the region were under "some form of evacuation," with residents either having already left or preparing to do so, Forest Service information officer Martin Esparza said. Two elderly men died Saturday in San Bernardino, apparently from fire-induced stress. A 93-year-old man collapsed and died while watching his home burn, according to the San Bernardino coroner. A 70-year-old man died from a heart attack while evacuating his house, the coroner said. Officials also reported a third stress-related death in the San Bernardino area. The Grand Prix fire started Tuesday and the Old fire Saturday. Officials believe both were deliberately set. Still farther west, more then 2,000 homes in Simi Valley were in danger from a 80,000-acre fire dubbed the Simi Incident, which sparked Friday when a smaller fire jumped State Route 126 and sped west. According to the AP, firefighters were working to save the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in the city. Ventura County fire officials confirmed the loss of 12 homes and said the Union Pacific Railroad had closed all rail lines into Simi Valley. One of the other fires in the San Diego area came within a quarter-mile Sunday of the Federal Aviation Administration's radar facility at Miramar Naval Air Station. When air traffic controllers transferred their responsibilities to a facility in Palmdale, the switch delayed air travel for several hours at several Southern California airports, including Los Angeles International and San Diego International. Firefighters took advantage of any lull in the winds, however brief, to put helicopters and fixed-wing tanker aircraft into the air to dump water and retardant on the fires. Hundreds of residents of the heavily populated suburbs waited in their cars, on the streets or at shelters for word on the fate of their homes. Among those sitting in their vehicles watching the burning skyline Sunday were Sharon Robinson, 62, and her daughter Kim Robinson, 46, who fled their home after throwing whatever clothes and other belongings they could into the back of their truck, according to an AP report "We've lived in our home for 35 years," Sharon Robinson told the AP. "Fire has always stopped in the foothills. I never thought it would reach our home." "I looked outside my house and I thought I was in the middle of hell, it was redness everywhere, unbelievable," said Rancho Cucamonga resident Joe Wronowicz, who along with his family put off evacuating and put their faith in firefighters to protect their neighborhood. California Gov. Gray Davis asked President Bush to declare the four counties affected by the fires disaster areas, paving the way for financial aid. "My heart goes out [to] them," Davis said at a news conference in San Bernardino, describing those who have lost or been forced to abandon their homes. "This is a terrible situation. They are the worst fires in California in 10 years," Davis said. The governor said he has authorized more than 650 fire engines to help the effort. Copyright 2003 CNN. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.
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I looked outside my house and I thought I was in the middle of hell.
