Brush Fires

Firefighters on Tuesday continued to battle a fusillade of wildfires plaguing Northern California, including a destructive blaze that has charred homes and threatened tourist haunts along the Big Sur coast. With more than 425,000 acres burned, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger ordered the California National Guard to deploy ground forces for the first time in three decades to help weary firefighters battling blazes from Kern County to the Oregon border.

A fast-moving wildfire that consumed some 6,600 acres rained smoke and ash from the mountains Friday, leaving residents here wondering whether a stiffer breeze would come up to sweep the blaze into their neighborhoods overnight. About 800 firefighters, backed by 10 air tankers and six helicopters, continued their assault on the blaze. Although the evening brought temporary relief, erratic winds known as "sundowners" were expected at up to 20 mph between 9 p.m. and 2 a.m.

Weary firefighters made progress Sunday against two California wildfires near the towns of Goleta and Big Sur, exploiting a lull in winds before rising temperatures and possible lightning storms arrive later this week. After two weeks of little gain, fire officials in Monterey County said a series of backfires started overnight helped reinforce containment lines between flames and homes near Big Sur and a Boy Scout camp farther north.

Jon keeley is standing on a dirt road in western Riverside County, looking out across the Box Springs Mountains. Instead of a thick coat of native shrubs, the slopes are covered with a shriveled tangle of mustard, wild oats and red brome. Too much fire is the culprit. Since 1957, there have been 33 fires larger than 100 acres in the Box Springs -- more than the area's native coastal sage and chaparral could withstand.

The fire burning outside Yosemite National Park destroyed 28 homes -- seven more than previously thought, state fire officials said Tuesday. Officials said they revised the number after crews were able to more accurately survey the damage. The blaze, started July 25 by a target shooter, was 95% contained by Tuesday. Meanwhile, a storm front forecast to move into California left fire officials worried that stronger winds and more lightning would spark new blazes.

It was one of those moments firefighters fear most. Los Angeles Fire Capt. Scott Gould was riding inside Engine 228 as it maneuvered along a winding canyon above Porter Ranch. He was talking on the radio with Capt. Richard Brunson, who was just ahead in Engine 8. Commanding the first two units to arrive at the Sesnon fire Monday morning, the captains were coordinating their assault on the wind-whipped blaze. What had been a half-acre fire only a few minutes earlier was now 20 acres and growing.

October in Twin Lakes is the season Anna Cox backs her car into the driveway so she can escape quickly. Santa Anas come out of the passes hard there, and in the 23 years she's lived in the canyon, fire has strafed her community too many times to remember. She accepted the risk.

Calmer winds Tuesday kept the largest of two San Fernando Valley wildfires from making a run toward the sea, averting a disaster scenario that has played out regularly over recent decades. The blazes, which have claimed two lives, destroyed 49 structures and burned 18,000 acres, heralded the start of Southern California's Santa Ana season, when desert winds fan the most ferocious fires. By some measures, the region got off lightly.

The massive Sesnon fire was sparked when heavy winds downed an electrical distribution line, causing sparking onto dry brush in a drainage ditch, fire officials said Wednesday. Los Angeles County Fire Department officials said they had tracked the start of the blaze to a remote unincorporated area west of Limekiln Canyon Road.

Some county officials said Friday they want to close a loophole that exempted the power line that caused the Sesnon fire from inspection or brush clearance rules. The move comes a day after The Times reported that the electricity distribution line that sparked the huge blaze was not covered under the state's strict inspection and brush clearance rules because it was not owned by an electric utility and was on private land.