Stars flee raging fires
The remains of a car caught in the wildfires at Witch Creek, which have devastated a large amount of property across more than 10,000 acres and forced the evacuation of more than 30,000 people from Ramona, California. Ramona is in the eastern part of San Diego county
Tuesday October 23 2007
SOME of Hollywood's wealthiest celebrities were among a quarter of a million people forced to leave their homes in California yesterday as wildfires continued to engulf vast areas of the state, leaving at least one person dead and dozens injured.
The most dramatic fires affected Malibu, a tiny yet hugely wealthy celebrity enclave on the Pacific coastline, and forced the evacuation of the homes owned by James Cameron, the 'Titanic' director, and the singer Olivia Newton-John.
Other celebrities who own homes in Malibu -- located to the west of Los Angeles and connected by only a narrow mountain pass and the congested Pacific Coast Highway -- include Sting, Robert Redford, Barbra Streisand, Cher and Richard Gere.
Destructive
As the Malibu fire grew ever more destructive, thousands of students were told to leave the campus of Pepperdine University. Nearby, the Malibu Presbyterian Church and several homes burnt to the ground, and the Pacific Coast Highway was closed, shutting off access to the city.
There is alarm at the increasing regularity of such "megafires" in America's West.
Some environmentalists have criticised residents of districts such as Malibu for refusing to allow "controlled burns" which get rid of flammable undergrowth that would, under natural circumstances, be destroyed every year by smaller fires.
However, controlled burns can be unsightly and are difficult to control. Nevertheless, some argue that a zero-tolerance approach to fire, and the resulting build-up of brush, is partly to blame for the larger wildfires of recent years, which have been much harder to contain. In 2003, a deer hunter started a fire that killed 17 Californians and burnt through an area the size of Luxembourg.
Arnold Schwarzenegger, the governor of California, declared a state of emergency in seven of its southern counties over the weekend. Firefighters worked continuously to control the blazes, which were worsened by the notoriously hot and dry Santa Ana winds and unusually high temperatures.
"More than 30,000 acres have already burnt and lives are being threatened," said Mr Schwarzenegger's office.
The governor confirmed that one person had been killed and four injured while trying to save a home in the town of Potrero, east of San Diego. At least another 13 people were injured in 11 separate fires, and 250,000 were forced to leave their homes throughout San Diego county.
Hundreds of patients at a hospital and nursing homes were taken to a safe location by school buses and ambulances. "We have more houses burning than we have people and engine companies to fight them," Lisa Blake, the San Diego fire captain, said.
Power
The fires shut a major power line from Arizona, cutting power to at least 37,000 people yesterday, but the region's grid was able to serve more than 99pc of customers.
With temperatures likely to reach 96F (35C) in Los Angeles this week, the state is likely to remain on alert. Yesterday, 1,500 firefighters were deployed and helicopters were dropping water from the air.
"This fire's been very erratic and it has moved rapidly," Michael Freeman, the Los Angeles county fire chief, said. "But it's not over until it's over, and we are a long way from there." (© The Times, London)
- Chris Ayres in Los Angeles
