Wildfires advance in Calif., destroy Wash. homes

[July 11, 2008]  PARADISE, Calif. (AP) -- Firefighters battling a raging wildfire in the Sierra Nevada foothills of California braced for strong winds Friday they feared could blow hot embers toward thousands of homes, while residents in Washington state's Spokane Valley fled a fire that destroyed several houses.

The winds forecast for Friday morning were expected to be similar to ones that caused the blaze in Butte County to flare up earlier this week, destroying about 50 homes and forcing 10,000 residents to evacuate.

"We're hoping to get things under control to be ready for that wind change," said Tobie Edmonds, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

Firefighters on Thursday positioned themselves on the banks of the Feather River opposite the town of Paradise, where a wildfire last month forced thousands of evacuations and destroyed 74 homes.

"They're monitoring that fire and trying to keep it on the east side so it doesn't cross over to the west bank" and reach the town, Edmonds said.

In Washington, strong winds gusting up to 50 mph spread a wildfire that erupted Thursday in a heavily wooded part of the Spokane Valley, forcing 200 residents to evacuate.

Fast-moving flames burned at least four homes, said Gov. Chris Gregoire, who flew to Spokane late Thursday, passing over numerous fires in eastern Washington.

"Virtually from Wenatchee east, it's a pretty smoky cloud," she said.

Gregoire said she approved requests by Spokane and Ferry counties for emergency declarations to make state resources available to help fight the fires.

"We have planes ready to go first thing in the morning, depending on winds," she said.

Officials said heavy smoke and tree cover made it difficult to assess the damage from the suburban Spokane wildfire, which remained out of control. The cause of that blaze, which grew to nearly 2 square miles, was not immediately known.

In California, about 40 fires ignited by lightning storms have burned more than 76 square miles in Butte County alone in the past two weeks. By Thursday, about 15 of the fires were active.

Lloyd Knifong, 47, and his son Kyle, 20, were preparing to spend a sleepless night defending their Paradise home and several others lined on two sides by 70-foot pine trees. A fire engine was parked nearby and sprinklers were jerry-rigged to roofs.

"When we see it coming, I'm going to empty my pool and get everything nice and wet. Then we'll leave," Knifong said.

In Concow, about 90 miles north of Sacramento, firefighters intentionally burned brush to keep the flames away from houses. Evacuations orders remained in place, but some residents were allowed back on Thursday to check on their homes.

"I think my place is gone," said Rachael Davidson, 37. "When we left, there were flames all around."

Along the scenic Big Sur coast, 27 homes and 31 other structures have burned in a fire that has consumed 140 square miles and was about 40 percent contained.

Farther south, a separate blaze in the Santa Ynez Mountains had blackened more than 15 square miles and was 75 percent contained. And at the southern tip of Sequoia National Forest, 90 miles north of Los Angeles, a 54-square-mile blaze was almost a third contained.

The National Guard has stepped in as crews across California struggle to contain hundreds of lightning-sparked fires that have burned more than 1,100 square miles and destroyed nearly 100 homes in the last three weeks. Some 1,460 fires had been contained by Thursday, but more than 320 still were active, authorities said.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger ordered the Guard to the front lines and expects to call up more troops. On Thursday, he requested more resources from President Bush, and officials at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said they were reviewing the request.

"California is in the midst of battling unprecedented wildfires that have stretched our state's firefighting resources to their limit and placed thousands of Californians in immediate danger," the governor wrote.

[Associated Press; By DON THOMPSON]

Associated Press writers Juliana Barbassa in Albion, Calif., and Nicholas K. Geranios in Spokane, Wash., contributed to this report.

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