Luke Skywalker
Super Moderator
{vb:raw ozzmodz_postquote}:
Get the news
Log In or Subscribe to skip
228 1 [h=6]Share This Story![/h]Let friends in your social network know what you are reading about
[h=4]California freeway opens after wildfire scorches 20 vehicles[/h]Officials reopen key Southern California artery after wildfire destroys 20 vehicles and continues to threaten area homes.
{# #}
[h=4]Sent![/h]A link has been sent to your friend's email address.
[h=4]Posted![/h]A link has been posted to your Facebook feed.
[h=6]Join the Nation's Conversation[/h]To find out more about Facebook commenting please read the Conversation Guidelines and FAQs
[h=2]UP NEXT[/h][h=2]03[/h]
A fast-moving wildfire burned several cars Friday as it swept across the main freeway from Southern California to Las Vegas. (July 17) AP
A helicopter drops water in Oak Hills, Calif., Friday, near a freeway where 20 vehicles were destroyed by the rampaging flames. The freeway was reopened early Saturday. There were no casualties.(Photo: James Quigg, AP)
LOS ANGELES -<span style="color: Red;">*</span>California motorists<span style="color: Red;">*</span>saw both fire and rain within 24 hours on a key artery<span style="color: Red;">*</span>that Friday seemed straight out of a hellish Hollywood movie.
A rare and welcome storm hit Southern California Saturday, dousing a mountainous stretch of Interstate-15 that became a blazing automotive inferno when the rampaging<span style="color: Red;">*</span>North Fire leaped from brittle brush to passing cars.
As vehicles caught fire, drivers and passengers ran for cover as firefighters began dropping water and fire retardant from helicopters and airplanes.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>When the flames were finally extinguished, 18 cars and two big-rig trucks were destroyed. Two people suffered minor injuries from smoke inhalation, but declined medical attention, authorities said.
The highway was reopened in the early hours of Saturday. Cal Fire's website reports that the North Fire has claimed 3,500 acres and so far is only 5% contained. The rain could help the hundreds of firefighters currently battling the blaze, which threatens some 700 buildings near El Cajon Pass. Such<span style="color: Red;">*</span>precipitation will also offer<span style="color: Red;">*</span>relief from temperatures in the 90s, but<span style="color: Red;">*</span>isn't likely to make a dent in a record drought that has led government officials<span style="color: Red;">*</span>to set historic water conservation measures.
Some 700 homes are currently under threat of fire in the El Cajon Pass area north of San Diego.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>(Photo: James Quigg, AP)
Television video Friday showed several vehicles burning at El Cajon Pass, packed with vacationers and commuters. The high-desert freeway -- a critical artery between San Diego and Las Vegas -- was closed in both directions. Several homes were also seen burning.
Dozens of travelers fled their vehicles, while hundreds more exited onto side roads if they could. A California Highway Patrol spokesman estimated that 50 to 75 vehicles had been abandoned, KABC-TV reported. Herds of people walked along the freeway to seek safety as the cars began to catch fire.
"A lot of people just froze," Arsenio Alcantar of Apple Valley, Calif., told KABC, as he recounted how he was stuck on the freeway but was able to make his way to an exit. "They were panicking."
A Michigan man said he and his family were able escape before their car was consumed by flames. "I just grabbed my kids and ran up the hill."
The so-called North Fire began in chaparral just off the interstate, near the junction with State Route 138. Fanned by 40-45 mph winds. Five drones flying over the area forced fire officials to temporarily ground air tankers, according to news reports. It was the third time recently that remote-controlled aircraft had interfered with firefighting in California.
In addition to 22 engines, authorities had deployed six air tankers, two other airplanes and three helicopters to battle the blaze.
Della Cava reported from San Francisco and Woodyard from Los Angeles. Contributing: Associated Press
0) { %> 0) { %>
0) { %>
Powered By WizardRSS.com | Full Text RSS Feed