Firefighters report progress even as temperatures soar

US News

Jul 9, 2008, 4:38 GMT

Los Angeles - Days of arduous work battling flames and building fire-lines appeared to have paid off Tuesday as authorities reported significant progress in taming the two most threatening wildfires in California. But authorities issued a 'red flag warning' covering more than 1,000 kilometers of tinder-dry mountain ranges along the Pacific Coast, with daytime temperatures scheduled to reach above 40 degrees in many areas, creating conditions ripe for 'explosive fire growth.' This increases the danger that fires could rage out of control or that new fires could spread quickly, even as resources are fully committed to containing the current conflagrations. Many homeowners who had been evacuated in the face of the Gap and Basin Complex fires were allowed to return home. According to state firefighting authority Cal Fire, the Gap Fire was 50 per cent contained Tuesday, up from 35 per cent containment on Monday. More significantly, the major threat to populated areas to the west of the fire was 'mopped up' by the 1,300 firefighters attacking the blaze. They will now concentrate on dousing hot spots and building 13 more kilometers of fire lines to completely surround the 4,000-hectare fire. Further north, progress was also reported on the more stubborn Basin Complex fire, which has threatened the scenic tourist area of Big Sur. That fire, one of over 1,000 that started on June 21 in a freak lightning storm, was described as 35 per cent contained Tuesday. With a heatwave predicted to linger in California until the weekend, bringing breezes and low humidity, concerns remain about possible flare-ups. In Butte County, some 150 kilometers north of Sacramento, the 1,000 residents of the town of Concow were ordered to evacuate as the Butte fire threatened their homes. More than 300 blazes are still burning statewide, down from a peak of 1,781. More than 255,000 hectares have burned from Nevada to the Pacific Ocean, but relatively little property has been lost: 40 homes, one business and 61 outbuildings. Around 18,400 personnel are deployed across the state, backed by 1,400 fire engines and more than 100 aircraft.

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