California fires under control

by Corina Ciubotaru

An estimated $1 billion will be necessary to rebuild the 1,500 homes destroyed by flames in California. Hot Santa Ana winds blowing from the desert combined with the driest summer on record have created an ideal place for fires to destroy homes and take lives. Six people have been reported dead and dozens of others were injured, while half a million were evacuated in the largest action of its kind in California's modern history. The worst affected area was San Diego, where many of the evacuees went to the San Diego Chargers' stadium, where they were given free food and shelter, along with massages and acupuncture to relieve some of the stress. Luckily winds aren't blowing as hard now and firefighters have been able to put out 18 blazes; very soon, some of the evacuees will go back to see if anything is left of "home". During the fires of 2003, 22 people died and thousands of homes destroyed but this year, evacuating threatened areas in time made all the difference in saving many lives. Firefighters complained about some people's refusal to leave their homes despite the warnings but the problem has been dealt with better eventually due to improving weather conditions that allowed for helicopters to put out fires from the air. A remote plane from NASA's nearby Ames center was sent to fly over the area and send images of the affected areas; it can see hot spots, flames and temperature differences eve through dense smoke like the one still covering areas of California cities.

related story: http://uk.news.yahoo.com/rtrs/20071024/tts-uk-california-wildfire-d1d4700_11.html

by Corina Ciubotaru for PocketNews (http://pocketnews.tv)

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