Los Angeles - Firefighters used water-dropping helicopters
and a plane to battle one of California's worst wildfires of the year
on Friday.
More than 1,700 firefighters sought to contain the 3,200 hectare
Crown wildfire in Los Angeles County's High Desert.
The blaze damaged several structures and forced the evacuation of
300 homes, the Los Angeles Times reported Saturday.
Despite the efforts of firefighters, less than one quarter of the
fires had been contained, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
said during a visit to the scene late Friday.
So far containment efforts have prevented the flames from reaching
residential areas, although the blaze threatened high-power lines
that bring electricity to much of southern California.
Fire officials said wind gusts up up to 80 kilometres per hour
were making it difficult to halt the spread of the Crown fire, which
broke out Thursday afternoon.
Dry air and temperatures over 30 centigrade were adding to the
problems.
Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency Wednesday, a day
after another fire broke out Tuesday afternoon in a remote
mountainous territory.
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