Spring Break
The Daily OrangeCalifornians react to blaze
Wildfires pose threat to homes 3,200 miles away
By Chelsea Prince
Posted: 10/24/07, 12:11 AM EST Section: News
The dry Southern California environment provides ideal conditions for windswept fires to surge across city borders and tumble down mountains. And this fall is no exception.
A wildfire has rampaged Southern California since Sunday, killing two people and injuring more than 40 people so far, including firefighters, while more than 500,000 California residents have been displaced, according to San Diego County officials.
President George W. Bush declared the critical situation a federal emergency Tuesday and called for seven counties to aid in disaster-relief efforts.
The fires started on the San Diego coasts and swept westward, according to The New York Times. Powerful winds and dangerous conditions have made it nearly impossible for firefighters to control the extensive situation.
"It's rather shocking and frightening," said Sarah Foster, former Southern California Ocean Beach resident and a Syracuse University freshman. "I'm still a little shaken up. I haven't even started making phone calls yet."
Brush fires happen every year, but a fire this size hasn't occurred since summer 2003 and it has never come so close to the downtown areas in major southern California cities such as Los Angeles, Foster said.
The most destructive San Diego fire in history killed 24 people and destroyed 3,600 homes.
"As of now, a half a million people have been evacuated. My boss' house is probably burnt down," Foster said. An estimated 1,300 homes and businesses have been destroyed in the fire so far, according to The New York Times.
Foster's West Coast residential acquaintances have fled to evacuation centers, Foster said.
The San Diego Chargers Qualcomm Stadium is a predominant evacuation emergency center for residents.
California is a desert so there are not too many measures to prevent fires other than to keep the brush down, Foster said. The frequent reoccurrence of the wildfires have caught everyone by storm.
A wildfire has rampaged Southern California since Sunday, killing two people and injuring more than 40 people so far, including firefighters, while more than 500,000 California residents have been displaced, according to San Diego County officials.
President George W. Bush declared the critical situation a federal emergency Tuesday and called for seven counties to aid in disaster-relief efforts.
The fires started on the San Diego coasts and swept westward, according to The New York Times. Powerful winds and dangerous conditions have made it nearly impossible for firefighters to control the extensive situation.
"It's rather shocking and frightening," said Sarah Foster, former Southern California Ocean Beach resident and a Syracuse University freshman. "I'm still a little shaken up. I haven't even started making phone calls yet."
Brush fires happen every year, but a fire this size hasn't occurred since summer 2003 and it has never come so close to the downtown areas in major southern California cities such as Los Angeles, Foster said.
The most destructive San Diego fire in history killed 24 people and destroyed 3,600 homes.
"As of now, a half a million people have been evacuated. My boss' house is probably burnt down," Foster said. An estimated 1,300 homes and businesses have been destroyed in the fire so far, according to The New York Times.
Foster's West Coast residential acquaintances have fled to evacuation centers, Foster said.
The San Diego Chargers Qualcomm Stadium is a predominant evacuation emergency center for residents.
California is a desert so there are not too many measures to prevent fires other than to keep the brush down, Foster said. The frequent reoccurrence of the wildfires have caught everyone by storm.
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