firefighters

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Thousands of Calif. Fire Evacuees to Head Home

(Newser) - Thanks to cooler, more humid weather and a drop-off in damaging winds, thousands of Santa Barbara wildfire evacuees are being allowed back home, the Los Angeles Times reports. Firefighters fought back the fire significantly last night, containing the 8,700-acre Jesusita blaze in Santa Barbara by 30%. Most of the...

Outlook Grim for Calif. Fire as Winds Continue

(Newser) - Poor firefighting conditions today—following a windy night—have allowed the Santa Barbara, Calif., wildfire to grow, and it has now consumed 3,500 acres and 75 homes, KNBC-TV reports. The fire, which has forced 30,000 people to flee their homes, is just 10% contained. Winds today are expected...

Morning Winds Stoke Raging Calif. Wildfires

Firefighters unable to get blaze under control as 30,000 evacuate

(Newser) - Early-morning winds kicked up the uncontrolled Jesusita fire in the hills of Santa Barbara, causing the evacuation of thousands more residents, reports the Los Angeles Times. The fire has now burned more than 2,800 acres, destroyed dozens of homes, and forced 30,000 people to evacuate. Gov. Schwarzenegger has...

13K Flee as Calif. Fire Rages
 13K Flee as Calif. Fire Rages 
May 7, 2009 3:05 PM CDT

13K Flee as Calif. Fire Rages

(Newser) - 13,575 people have fled their homes as a wildfire that has consumed 1,300 acres rages in Santa Barbara, Calif., the Los Angeles Times reports. Another 13,000 are on alert, Bloomberg adds. Officials are unsure how many homes have been destroyed, but it’s in the “dozens....

Calif. Fires Destroy Dozens of Homes

Santa Barbara under state of emergency as wildfires scorch hillsides

(Newser) - Raging wildfires in the hills above Santa Barbara have destroyed at least 20 homes and are threatening many more, reports the Los Angeles Times. Some 900 firefighters are battling the wind-driven fires, but are hampered by poor access to the area. Three were hospitalized with burns after flames engulfed their...

1,200 Homes Evacuated as Calif. Wildfire Slows

Wind could pick up later today

(Newser) - Helicopters dropping water during the night and calmer wind this morning are helping crews hold back a wildfire that has forced the evacuation of 1,200 California homes. An early start to the state's annual wildfire siege, the fire has burned 196 acres of brush and threatened some 2,000...

2 Dead in Texas Wildfires; Flames Recede

But blazes seem to be dying down: firefighters

(Newser) - Two people have died after wildfires in Texas engulfed their property, CNN reports. Matt and Cathy Quinn are so far the only fatalities reported from fires that burned parts of Texas and Oklahoma yesterday. Matt Quinn was a former reporter for WFAA-TV, a local news station. The wildfires are petering...

White Firefighters' Bias Claims Head to High Court

Conn. team complained after promotion test dumped

(Newser) - Hoping to become lieutenants, 77 New Haven firefighters took a promotion test—but when none of the 19 black firefighters qualified, the city jettisoned the results. Their hopes dashed, 17 white firefighters sued the city for racial discrimination, and the case is now set for the Supreme Court. It marks...

Wildfires Sear Texas, Oklahoma

Blazes fanned by hurricane-force winds destroy dozens of homes

(Newser) - Firefighters are struggling to contain several raging blazes fanned by hurricane-force winds in Texas and Oklahoma, CNN reports. Dozens of homes have been destroyed and the winds—up to 76 mph—are making it hard for firefighting aircraft to get off the ground. At least 13 people have been injured,...

Thai 'Spidey' Saves Autistic Boy

Firefighter uses costume to coax boy from ledge

(Newser) - A quick-thinking fireman in Bangkok rescued an autistic boy from a third-story window ledge this week with a little help from a superhero friend, the BBC reports. The firefighter donned a Spider Man costume he keeps handy for school drills and climbed onto the ledge with a glass of juice...

Aussie Arson Suspect Was Volunteer Firefighter

He's accused of lighting a fire that killed 21 people

(Newser) - The first suspect to be charged in one of the Australian blazes that killed as many as 300 people has been identified as a 39-year-old volunteer firefighter, reports the Times of London. He's accused of igniting a fire that killed 21 people 100 miles east of Melbourne. The suspect's identity...

Koala Rescued After Aussie Wildfire

(Newser) - When firefighter David Tree noticed the koala, it was moving gingerly over the blackened landscape, its scorched paws clearly causing pain. "I could see she had sore feet and was in trouble, so I pulled over the fire truck," Tree told the Herald Sun. “It was amazing,...

Drum Major Suspended for Nodding at Obama

Member of Cleveland firefighters' group violated 'protocol and proper decorum'

(Newser) - A Cleveland man who marched as drum major with a firefighters band in last week’s inaugural parade has been suspended for a nod and a wave he gave to President Obama, the Plain Dealer reports. “This was a military parade. Protocol and proper decorum had to be followed...

30,000 Flee Raging Fires
 30,000 Flee Raging Fires 

Nov 16, 2008 6:05 AM CST

30,000 Flee Raging Fires

Hundreds of homes destroyed by California blazes fueled by fierce Santa Ana winds

(Newser) - Nearly 30,000 people have fled three massive fires scorching thousands of acres from Santa Barbara to Los Angeles, reports the Los Angeles Times. Hundreds of homes have been gutted in three days of blazes fueled by raging Santa Ana winds that firefighters are struggling mightily to contain. Major freeways...

Light Winds Aid LA Firefighters

But season for conflagration-fueling winds has just begun

(Newser) - Firefighters made progress early today in containing two Los Angeles-area fires, as calm winds prevented the flames from blazing a path to the Pacific Ocean, the Los Angeles Times reports. The older of the two fires, the Marek blaze, was 80% contained, and firefighters have begun to cut containment lines...

Firefighters Charge Sex Harassment in Gay Parade

Seeking $3M in damages from San Diego in trial that starts today

(Newser) - Four San Diego firefighters ordered by officials to drive their truck in the city's gay pride parade last year are suing for $3 million in damages for sexual harassment, reports the Los Angeles Times. The four, who were given their orders by the city’s lesbian fire chief, say the...

Firefighters' Helicopter Crashes; 9 Feared Dead

Another 4 are injured in northern California

(Newser) - Nine people are missing and presumed dead and another four are badly burned after a helicopter carrying firefighters crashed in northern California, the Los Angeles Times reports. The helicopter went down Tuesday in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest, but the cause is unclear. Those on board were helping fight a 27-square-mile...

California Fires Set Destruction Record

1,312 square miles destroyed

(Newser) - California wildfires over the last three weeks have set a record for widespread destruction, reports the Los Angeles Times. Some 840,000 acres—1,300 square miles—have been scorched by 1,700 fires, sparked by lightning strikes. Firefighters are bringing the remaining 300 blazes under control, but officials worry...

Calif. Firefighters Battle 2 Huge Blazes

Predicted heat wave will magnify 1,700 fires in Calif.

(Newser) - Thousands of California firefighters battled a huge blaze today that threatened homes in Santa Barbara County, but lost ground to another fire near Big Sur, the Los Angeles Times reports. And weather likely will not help: Winds, lightning strikes, and fierce heat are expected to hit the state this week....

Emergency Declared in Calif. Fires

Blazes threaten more than 6,800 homes; better weather expected

(Newser) - President Bush declared a region stretching from Nevada to the Pacific Ocean a federal disaster area, the Los Angeles Times reports, as more than 1,000 fires raged across northern California. Some 17,000 firefighters are battling the blazes, which threaten 6,800 homes. “We don’t have any...

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