Firefighters declare victory
over S. California wildfires
July 4, 1996
Web posted at: 9:25 a.m. EDTLOS ANGELES (CNN) -- Firefighters fully contained a fire they had been battling for five straight days in Idyllwild, California, Wednesday night, fire officials said. They also expected to fully contain a five-day-old fire in the Angeles National Forest on Thursday.
Containment in Idyllwild, in the San Bernardino National Forest, reached 100 percent as of 8 p.m. EDT and was expected to be fully controlled Saturday. A total of 9,620 acres burned but no structures were lost. (249K QuickTime movie) Five firefighters sustained minor injuries.
A second fire in the Angeles National Forest reached 95 percent containment as of 8 p.m. EDT, and firefighters were optimistic they would achieve full containment Thursday.
Two separate fires broke out Wednesday afternoon, scorching mostly forest lands in the Cuyama area of Santa Barbara County. No structures are threatened, fire officials said. So far the Wasioja fire has burned 2,400 acres, and fire officials said they had no outlook for control or containment. The area, about 60 miles north of Santa Barbara, is marked by inaccessible terrain and is virtually uninhabited.
The second fire, called the Perkins fire, is 100 percent contained. It burned 1,600 acres. The cause of both fires was under investigation.
Residents allowed to return home
In what has been coined the Bee Canyon Fire in the San Bernardino forest, about 100 miles east of Los Angeles, evacuation orders for residents of Idyllwild and Pine Cove were lifted at 11 p.m. EDT Wednesday. The area was still off-limits to the general public and campgrounds were closed until further notice.
The evacuations have affected about 5,000 people, one fire official said. However, another said the figure may be as high as 12,000. Because many of the residences are vacation homes, it was difficult to determine how many were evacuated.
Business owners will be allowed limited access until the two state highways that have been shut down are reopened. There was no word on when U.S. Highway 243 and U.S. Highway 74 would reopen.
Firefighting efforts in the Bee Canyon fire have reached an estimated cost of more than $4.5 million and could ultimately reach $7 million, fire officials said.
Bullet may have started fire
The fire in the San Bernardino National Forest is believed to have been started by gunfire, said Jim Ahearn, U.S. Forest Service information officer. A bullet may have ricocheted off a rock during target practice, sparking the flames, Ahearn said.
In the Angeles Crest National Forest, good weather has helped firefighters achieve near-containment of a fire that began in Bichota Canyon. More than 1,000 fire personnel are battling it in the area, which has steep terrain. The cost of fighting the fire has reached $1.7 million.
"Firefighting efforts are going very well because humidity is high, the wind direction is holding, and heat is down," said fire volunteer Dick Davis. Temperatures earlier this week exceeded 100 degrees. Anticipated thunderstorms should further aid firefighters trying to "run a complete line around the fire" by Thursday night, a Forest Service official said.
Related stories:
- Thousands evacuated from path of S. Calif. wildfires - July 2, 1996
- Homes,buildings damaged by California wildfires - July 1, 1996
- Rain, snow douse much of Nevada wildfire - June 25, 1996
- Fires rage in the West - June 25, 1996
- Wildfires scorch Western states - June 24, 1996
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