Northern Calif. Firefighters Still Struggling

PlusNorthern Calif. Firefighters Still StrugglingNorthern Calif. Firefighters Still StrugglingThe Associated PressA wildfire near Santa Cruz, California, that's forced some 500 people to evacuate is still only 5 percent contained. The Santa Cruz blaze is only one of a number of Northern California firess fueled by tinder-dry vegetation. (June 12)[Notes:ANCHOR VOICE] (locator - Bonny Doon, CA)Steve Sohl points and says: "Fire actually went through here and I was working on that while this thing here was ablaze."IT WAS A ROUGH NIGHT FOR STEVE SOHL AS HE TRIED DESPERATELY TO SAVE HIS HOME IN CALIFORNIA'S SANTA CRUZ MOUNTAINS FROM A FAST MOVING WILDFIRE.Steve Sohl, Resident, says: "It was amazing how fast it went. All of a sudden it jumped the road. It was raining down ash. The trees across the street exploded."HIS FAMILY LOST SOME MOTORCYCLES AND A TRAILER BUT THE HOME WAS SPARED. SOME OF HIS NEIGHBORS WERE NOT SO LUCKY. HUNDREDS OF HOMES HERE REMAINED THREATENED BY THE FIRE, WHICH BURNED NEARLY ONE THOUSAND ACRES AND REMAINED UNCONTROLLED.(firefighter nats)THE SANTA CRUZ FIRE WAS JUST ONE OF SEVERAL BURNING THROUGHOUT NORTHERN CALIFORNIA. A HUGE FIRE OUTSIDE CHICO GREW TO MORE THAN SIX THOUSAND ACRES THURSDAY AND THREATENED MORE THAN A THOUSAND HOMES. ON WEDNESDAY 30 HOMES WERE DESTROYED IN A FIRE NEAR STOCKTON. (Chico resident soundbite from freelancer) 19:04:10SOT: MY FOLKS ARE GONE AND I INHERITED HALF THE HOUSE. SO WE CAME BACK TO CLEAN IT UP SO WE COULD SELL IT AND HERE COMES THE FIRE NICHOLAS RAYMOND19:04:34WE'RE AT THE LAST FEW HOUSES THAT WAS VOLUNTARY EVACUATIONS SO WE LEFT LAST NIGHT AND STAYED WITH FRIENDS. AND WE CAME BACK UP TODAY TO SEE WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE. A LOT OF SMOKE IN THE AIR Haven Daley, The Associated Press, says: "This has been one of the driest Springs on record here in California and fire officials say they're preparing for a long and difficult fire season."Paul Van Gerwen, Battalion Chief, CAL FIRE, says: "Having that kind of fire activity at this time of the year in this range, it alarms me and I've been doing this for awhile. What we're hoping is that citizens pay attention to this. If you haven't created defensible space around your home, you need to do so. It's too late once the fire's coming."THREE FIREFIGHTERS HAVE BEEN SERIOUSLY INJURED SO FAR BATTLING THE WILDFIRES. HAVEN DALEY, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS.

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YouTube | June 13, 2008

Tags:. .raining. .range. .across. .seriously. .clean