Wildfire near Sacramento burns dozens of homes on Home Services

Jul

Wildfire near Sacramento burns dozens of homes

posted by admin in home cleaning service

A wind stoked wildfire northeast of Sacramento burned dozens of homes Tuesday and has forced thousands of fire-weary residents to flee, state officials said.

Firefighters were also struggling against a sudden drop in humidity and a 10-degree spike in temperature as a heat wave forecast to linger until the weekend grips much of the state.

Fire crews across the state have been straining to cover hundreds of active California wildfires, many of which were ignited by a lightning storm more than two weeks ago.

A blaze threatening the small coastal community of Big Sur let up just enough to allow hundreds of people to check on their homes Tuesday. At least 23 homes and 25 other structures have been destroyed in Big Sur as flames marched over more than 125 square miles of land since June 21.

Although that fire is far from controlled the rugged terrain has kept containment at 18 percent into the fire’s third week authorities lifted the mandatory evacuation order issued for 25 miles of the 31 mile stretch along the Pacific Coast Highway that had been closed.

Dena Angelique, 34, unloaded hastily packed bags of books, photos, art supplies and clothes from the back of her dusty Toyota 4Runner after a week away from her home.

Officials, however, cautioned that the lifted evacuation orders did not mean conditions had drastically improved.

Marine fog, relatively calm winds and moderate temperatures from Tuesday morning helped firefighting efforts on the lower flanks of the Santa Ynez Mountains, where helicopter water drops doused flames in the rugged canyons, Becker said.

About a dozen homes along the ridgeline overlooking the Pacific Ocean remain under a mandatory evacuation order.

The expected heat wave raised not only the fire danger, but also concerns about heat illness among firefighters worn down by the long fight against blazes that have consumed more than 985 square miles in California since late June.

Crews took rest breaks in refrigerated trailers with bunk beds before returning to the field, but heat stroke was a worry, Walsh said.

Tags: authorities, blaze, Community, fire crews, firefighter, lt, photos