posted October 22, 2007 11:09 PM              

MALIBU, Calif., Oct. 22 — A firestorm ravaged Southern California today for the second consecutive day, destroying scores of homes and businesses, blackening thousands of acres and forcing tens of thousands to evacuate ahead of blowtorching flames.

Officials are relieved that only one person has been killed and only a handful injured, but they called the fires, a Hydra with at least 15 separate burns in seven counties fed by gale-force winds, one of the state’s worse. Engines and firefighters from Nevada and Arizona were being summoned as the state’s fire-fighting resources stretched to the breaking point with new fires erupting as others receded and reignited with every shift in the wind.

San Diego, where in 2003 the state’s worst wildfires killed more than a dozen people and scored hundreds of thousands of acres, braced as at least seven fires there intensified and forced the evacuation of entire communities, including Ramona and Rancho Sante Fe in northern San Diego County. A total of 250,000 people were evacuated, including inmates from one jail and patients from one hospital in the fires’ path.

Officials there said they feared this fire, devouring some of the thickest and driest brush in years, could surpass the fires of 2003 in destruction. The one fatality this week occurred in a fire in southeastern San Diego County on Sunday that also injured several people, including four firefighters.

Thousands of people descended on Qualcomm Stadium near downtown San Diego and the Del Mar Fairgrounds north of the city, both of which opened as emergency shelters, while other people jammed freeways trying to get out or made desperate bids to save their homes with garden hoses. Officials feared the fires would burn from inland mountains all the way to the ocean.

“This is a major emergency,” said Ron Roberts, a San Diego County supervisor. “The speed with which these fires are moving, because of the wind, they are probably unlike anything we’ve seen before.”

His face smudged with ash, Bruce Gallagher fled Ramona in a motor home and roamed a shopping mall parking lot in Escondido, carrying two large plastic bottles in search of water.

“I have a feeling it’s probably gone,” he said of his home.

State officials estimated more than 30,000 acres were burning, but they struggled to compile accurate data because of the erratic nature of the many-tentacled fires. Just as state officials at a mid-morning news conference in Malibu were declaring a fire in suburban Los Angeles the state’s top priority, San Diego officials were issuing sweeping evacuation orders and television showed images of scores of homes burning in a remote area of Los Angeles.

The hot, gusting winds, not expected to let up until late Tuesday, at times grounded fire-fighting airplanes, which are pivotal for their ability to dump tremendous amounts of water and fire retardant.

“We have to just pray the wind slows down because the wind is the No. 1 enemy in the dry weather,” Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said at a news conference in Malibu, where a large fire destroyed landmarks Sunday and flared anew after dying down somewhat overnight.

Some of the fires appeared to have started by downed power lines but a few were believed to have been caused by arson.

All over, scenes of residents taking matters into their own hands played out as some fires burned for long period without a firefighter in sight.

Dozens of men, women and children in Canyon Country north of Los Angeles grabbed shovels and garden hoses and fought flames creeping up a canyon within 50 feet of their homes. About seven children and young teenagers worked in tandem with their parents as the flames approached their back fences.

“That was hot!” said Steven Driedger, 14, as he examined his scratched legs for signs of a burn. “But I’m fine.”

Steven’s mother, Carolyn Dreidger, said the family had been battling the blaze since 4 a.m. along with their neighbors.

“Our neighborhood has really come together,” she said, as a firefighting crew finally pulled up in the late morning. “We had to. These are the first official firefighters we’ve seen.’’

posted October 23, 2007 07:35 AM              

Thinking, that really there is no amount of money that can begin to replace family photos, memories, geneology research documents, family heirlooms, sense of safety, etc. though

I just feel terrible for these families...

My friend Ben is just terrified! He's just been married two years now and owns his home, he and his wife have a very small baby... Most all of thier family members are there in the area, so really there is no safe place.
We've already invited his family to our home... He, as I'm certain others are, is afraid of losing his employment by leaving the area. [Employment = Livelyhood]

Jobs, at least good jobs are not easily come by in these metropolitan areas...

He's at a loss.

His parents are elderly and not very mobile and currently live just a few blocks away from the most recent evacuations.

This is absolutely devastating.

This sad situation quite surreal...