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 News from Around the Americas | October 2007 
Fires Contained But the Damage is Done
 Sydney Morning Herald
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| | A view of a fire-destroyed home in Rancho Bernardo, California. Firefighters were breaking the back of California's wildfires, though officials warned there was "still a long way to go" as some 22,000 homes remained threatened by the blazes that have killed seven people. (AFP/Gabriel Bouys) |
Firefighters say they're making progress against California's wildfires but about 22,000 homes remain threatened by the blazes that have killed at least nine people, gutted 1800 properties and caused over $1billion of damage.
Cooler temperatures and calmer winds have allowed firefighters to contain most of the 23 fires that erupted last week.
They've triggered the evacuation of more than half a million people - the biggest mass evacuation in Californian history.
With diminished winds, an aerial armada of helicopters and tanker planes has been able to fly non-stop, dropping water and fire retardants on blazes across the region. It is part of a wider effort involving more than 10,000 firefighters.
Customs and Border Protection agents discovered the charred bodies of three men and a woman in a rugged region near the Mexican border.
Officials said the four dead may have been illegal immigrants who had crossed over from Mexico. |
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