Ancient trees are spared as Calif. wildfires rage

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[h=4]Ancient trees are spared as Calif. wildfires rage[/h]A couple of well-known areas threatened by a series of devastating and deadly wildfires in Northern and Central California are out of danger, for the present at least.

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The Valley Fire has ravaged more than 60,000 acres of Lake County, California. Hundreds of homes have been lost, but evacuees are finding comfort through the support of fellow survivors. VPC


Richard and Kathie Reeves embrace as they stand in the remains of the home of close friends that was destroyed in a wildfire several days earlier in Middletown, Calif. The fire that sped through Middletown and other parts of rural Lake County, less than 100 miles north of San Francisco, has continued to burn since despite a massive firefighting effort.(Photo: Elaine Thompson, AP)


First, the good news. A couple of well-known areas threatened by a series of devastating and deadly wildfires in Northern and Central California are out of danger, for the present at least. And with the fast-moving infernos increasingly being contained, evacuation orders in several places have been lifted.
One of the blazes, in Fresno County, has moved away from the Sierra Nevada's Giant Sequoia trees, some of which are 3,000 years old.
Meanwhile, another fire, which has spread from Lake County to Napa and Sonoma counties, north of San Francisco, is posing little threat to the famed vineyards in those areas.
And, according to the National Weather Service, forecasters say weather conditions are changing and the area could see some rain Wednesday. Many locations could see up to a half-inch of rain, the weather service said.
In the meantime, the Fresno County Sheriff's Office has lifted mandatory wildfire evacuation orders for dozens of residents in the small Central California communities of Dunlap, Miramonte, and Pinehurst east of Fresno.
The Fresno blaze, California's largest active wildfire, had charred 217 square miles of grass, brush and timber since it was sparked by lightning July 31. It was 40 percent contained Tuesday.
About 300 miles northwest in Lake County, fire crews are gaining ground against a devastating fire that has destroyed hundreds of homes. Cal Fire says the blaze in Lake County was 30 percent contained Tuesday evening, according to KXTV, a Sacramento station.
The blaze, which started Saturday, has charred 105 square miles and destroyed at least 585 homes.
And now the bad news. The number of homes destroyed by a fire in the Gold Rush country of the Sierra Nevada foothills has risen to at least 233, according to AP.
The blaze in Amador and Calaveras Counties has charred more than 112 square miles and was 40 percent contained on Tuesday. It is still threatening another 6,400 structures.
Meanwhile, at the White House on Tuesday, spokesman Josh Earnest said the Obama administration is asking Congress to change the way the federal government spends money to fight wildfires, the AP reported.
Earnest said that under the current funding system, the Forest Service and parts of the Interior Department are using money "that was originally dedicated to preventing forest fires to actually fight the forest fires." He said it's a flawed strategy because when less money is devoted to wildfire prevention, it means more will have to be spent on firefighting.
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