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Governor visits fire zone, requests federal assistance
[June 27, 2008]

Governor visits fire zone, requests federal assistance


(Sacramento Bee, The (CA) (KRT) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Jun. 27--Amid the backdrop of thick haze from scores of Northern California fires, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Friday announced his request for a federal declaration of emergency, aimed at providing more resources to combat more than a 1,000 fires that have consumed thousands hundreds of thousands of acres statewide.



U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne accompanied Schwarzenegger to Whiskeytown Lake west of Redding for a news conference to commend the thousands of firefighters who have been kept busy by the wildfires, many of them ignited by lightning a week ago.

The fires have been unprecedented for not only by the high number but in their occurrence so early in the fire season.


"These conditions are very, very stark," said Kempthorne, who was already in California for an unrelated engagement.

"It was a shock for me to know how many fires there are across California," Schwarzenegger said.

The state needs every bit of help it can get, the governor said, noting that it was "unusual to have that many fires at one time."

As he spoke occasional flecks of ash drifted from the hazy sky. In the nearby mountains, the Whiskeytown fire continued to rage out of control.

In his letter to President Bush, the governor requested direct federal assistance, including debris removal and support for evacuation operations and sheltering residents displaced by the fire dangers.

The governor has already declared states of emergencies in the counties of Butte, Mendocino, Monterey, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Shasta and Trinity.

"I have determined that this incident is of such severity and magnitude that effective response is beyond the capabilities of the state and affected local governments," the governor's letter said, "and that supplementary federal assistance is necessary to save lives, protect property, public health and safety, or to lessen or avert the threat the disaster."

In Trinity County, where huge swaths of forestland were under siege by flames, as many as 500 homes were at risk, according to fire officials. Evacuations were ordered in dozens of homes in the direct line of fire.

State highways and local roads are closed, or subject to major delays, in many parts of the north state.

Evacuation orders are in place of parts of Butte, Shasta and Trinity counties, and precautionary evacuation orders are in place in Lassen, Modoc and Mendocino counties.

The U.S. Forest Service and Cal Fire have deployed thousands of personnel to combat the fires. Of the 1,200 fires recently ignited, a mere fifth have been contained. More than 11,300 personnel have been assigned to the fires.

More lightning is expected over the weekend, heightening worries that fire crews could be spread thin so early in the fire season.

Near Big Sur, 575 homes were threatened by a lightening-sparked fire that had already burned 42 square miles about a mile south of the famous coastal community on the Pacific Coast Highway

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Copyright (c) 2008, The Sacramento Bee, Calif.
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