Forest Fires San Diego County

Flames raging untamed for five days in the Cleveland National Forest were bearing down Wednesday on the pristine Eagle Crag natural area where spotted owls and bald eagles soar over stands of big cone fir trees and aged manzanitas. Using backfires and bombardments of water and retardant chemicals, firefighters along a remote area straddling Riverside and San Diego counties worked to keep the 8,700-acre blaze from entering the 2,000-acre sanctuary, said U.S.

Flames raging untamed for five days in the Cleveland National Forest were bearing down Wednesday on the pristine Eagle Crag natural area where spotted owls and bald eagles soar over stands of big cone fir trees and aged manzanitas. Using backfires and bombardments of water and retardant chemicals, firefighters along a remote area straddling Riverside and San Diego counties worked to keep the 8,700-acre blaze from entering the 2,000-acre sanctuary, said U.S.

Blazes whipped by hot, dry winds have destroyed nearly 20,000 acres of forest and brushland in California, fire officials said. One of the worst of the fires, an 11,700-acre blaze about 45 miles northeast of Fresno in the central Sierra Nevada foothills, was nearly contained. The arson-caused fire destroyed seven houses and forced about 2,500 people from their homes for a time.

Blazes whipped by hot, dry winds have destroyed nearly 20,000 acres of forest and brushland in California, fire officials said. One of the worst of the fires, an 11,700-acre blaze about 45 miles northeast of Fresno in the central Sierra Nevada foothills, was nearly contained. The arson-caused fire destroyed seven houses and forced about 2,500 people from their homes for a time.

Tropical storm Ramon rumbled to within 1,000 miles of Los Angeles on Sunday, bringing unseasonable rain and thundershowers and prompting flash-flood watches throughout most Southern California mountain areas. The slowly moving storm--the remains of a once-powerful hurricane packing 138-m.p.h. winds a few days earlier--was reported to be dying about 300 miles off the southern tip of Baja California. But it still had enough punch to cause intermittent rainfall across much of the Southland.

Tropical storm Ramon rumbled to within 1,000 miles of Los Angeles on Sunday, bringing unseasonable rain and thundershowers and prompting flash-flood watches throughout most Southern California mountain areas. The slowly moving storm--the remains of a once-powerful hurricane packing 138-m.p.h. winds a few days earlier--was reported to be dying about 300 miles off the southern tip of Baja California. But it still had enough punch to cause intermittent rainfall across much of the Southland.