California’s 12 large wild fires have burned nearly 500,000 acres in a wide arc from Ventura County, north of Los Angeles east to San Bernardino National Forest and south to the U.S.-Mexico border.
Losses have reached $1 billion in San Diego County – where half a million residents have been forced to evacuate. A third of the California avocado crop has been wiped out due to the blaze.
President George Bush toured the area with Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declaring a 7 county area to be a disaster area – paving the way for federal relief.
Several of the fires are thought to be the result of arson. The FBI and the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives have been dispatched to the area to investigate.
The hot, dry Santa Ana winds that have fanned the flames since the weekend have finally diminished – aiding the fire fighting efforts. Helicopters have been dropping water from the air – see photo below.
We’ve included a link to NASA’s latest fire pictures.