WIND-DRIVEN WILDFIRE DESTROYS 40 HOMES, BURNS 11 SQUARE MILES NEAR SWALL MEADOWS, CALIFORNIA, NEAR THE NEVADA BORDER. THE INCOMING STORM MADE IT DIFFICULT TO FIGHT THE BLAZE. THE CAUSE AND ORIGIN OF THE FIRE IS UNDER INVESTIGATION
February 8,
2015
SWALL
MEADOWS, CALIFORNIA:
Forty homes were destroyed in a wind-driven wildfire that
burned nearly 11 square miles and forced the evacuation of about 150 people in
two small California towns at the eastern base of the Sierra Nevada, officials
said Saturday.
The fire
started near a highway on the border of Inyo and Mono counties Friday
afternoon, and blew up when 50- to 75-mph winds whipped through wooded areas
near Swall Meadows and the neighboring community of Paradise for about three
hours, said Capt. Liz Brown of the California Department of Forestry and
Fire Protection.
An incoming
storm caused the winds to constantly shift direction, making it tough for
firefighters to contain the blaze, she said.
“We had to
take defensive positions to protect as many structures as we could while
protecting ourselves,” Brown said. “We did what we could.”
She said
Swall Meadows was hit hard by the blaze – 39 homes were destroyed there while
one burned in the community of Paradise.
Firefighters
gained the upper hand when rain moved in, and have contained 50 percent of
the blaze.
Brown said
even rain wasn’t enough to put out the fire because a three-year drought across
California created extremely dry timber brush that fueled the flames.
A
firefighter was treated for smoke inhalation.
The cause
of the fire was under investigation.
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FIRE CREWS INCREASED CONTAINMENT OF
A WIND-DRIVEN WILDFIRE THAT DESTROYED 40 HOMES
February 8, 2015
CROWLEY
LAKE, Calif. (AP) —
Fire crews
increased containment of a wind-driven wildfire that destroyed 40 homes, but
they said Sunday that they still didn't know when residents evacuated from two
small California towns at the eastern base of the Sierra Nevada would be able
to return home.
Dozens of
power poles have come down in the communities of Swall Meadows and Paradise,
creating hazards for the roughly 250 residents who have been evacuated,
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection Capt. Liz Brown said.
Crews were assessing trees in the two communities on Sunday to ensure they
wouldn't come down.
"We
would love to shoot for today, but I don't know," Brown said of the
prospect of lifting evacuation orders. "Once it's open, it's open. We
don't have the resources to escort people in and escort them out."
The fire
started near a highway on the border of Inyo and Mono counties Friday
afternoon. It blew up when 50 to 75 mph winds whipped through wooded areas near
the two communities for about three hours, turning the flames into a
"freight train," Brown said.
Swall
Meadows was hit hard by the blaze — 39 homes were destroyed there while one
burned in the community of Paradise, Brown said.
Firefighters
made progress after rain moved in, and they have since contained 65 percent of
the 11-square-mile blaze.
But Brown
said the rain hasn't been enough to completely put out the fire. A three-year
drought across California has created extremely dry timber brush that fueled the
flames and pushed them all the way up the Sierra slopes to the snow line around
8,000 feet, she said.
The cause
of the fire was under investigation.