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Nevada, Utah, California Wildfires Force Hundreds to Evacuate

by Jordan Yerman | July 8, 2007 at 08:37 am

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AP- Wildfires burst out across the American West yesterday as the ongoing heat wave created ideal conditions for wildfires.

An 8,000-acre wildfire forced hundreds of people in the town of Winnemucca to leave their homes, one of more than a dozen blazes that charred a combined 55 square miles in northern Nevada.

The blaze was among a series that dotted the West on Saturday as a heat wave made parched terrain even drier, forcing authorities to evacuate homes and close highways and wilderness areas.

A 100-mile stretch of Interstate 15 in central Utah was closed when a 160,000-acre wildfire jumped the highway, and other fires burned in California, Colorado, Arizona, Idaho, Oregon and Washington.

The fire near Winnemucca, about 170 miles east of Reno, threatened up to eight blocks of homes and an electrical substation, said U.S. Bureau of Land Management spokesman Jamie Thompson.

"It's right up to the south edge of town," he said. "The fire definitely poses a danger to parts of the town. It's certainly got everyone's attention."

In
California, Fires were also raging near Santa Clarita and more than 400
firefighters fought flames which consumed 17,000 acres (6,900 hectares)
of the two million acre (810,000-hectare) Inyo National Forest east of
Yosemite National Park.

Fires were blamed for several road accidents on a stretch of
Interstate 70 near Richfield, Utah, including one in which two people
were killed. Highway patrols blamed poor visibility from smoke.

Many of the fires have been blamed on lightning strikes in
tinder-dry forest areas, after a mild winter which saw
lower-than-average rainfalls.

The fires have come a week after raging blazes destroyed thousands
of acres of forest near Lake Tahoe, on the California/Nevada border.

Coverage of the Tahoe fire can be found here, courtesy of our very own TahoeSunsets.

From the northern part of Southern California:

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY

The Zaca Fire rages on even as firefighters attack the flames from the sky and the ground.

Here is the latest:

* The fire has burned more than 7,500 acres (as of 8:00 pm per the Cal Fire website).

* A metal grinder caused this wildfire that now threatens 20 structures.

* 1,537 firefighters are on scene.

* So far, eleven people have been hurt in and around the fire lines.

* The fire is just fifteen percent contained.