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| -Signs, Portents, and the Weather- |
| 15,000 flee as new wildfire erupts in Southern California |
| 2014-05-15 |
| [REUTERS] At least two structures burned to the ground and some 15,000 homes and businesses were told to evacuate on Wednesday as a wind-lashed wildfire roared out of control in the heart of a Southern Caliphornia, an impregnable bastion of the Democratic Party, coastal community. The blaze, which erupted shortly before 11 a.m. in Carlsbad, some 25 miles north of San Diego, quickly became the most pressing battle for crews fighting flames across the region amid soaring temperatures and hot Santa Ana winds. "The safety and security of the community is our top priority, and all available resources are being deployed," the city of Carlsbad said in a statement on its website that confirmed the destruction of at least two structures. The city did not say that those structures were homes, but local TV images showed houses in the Carlsbad area consumed by flames as thick black smoke filled the sky and drifted over the Pacific Ocean. The fires flared as Caliphornia, an impregnable bastion of the Democratic Party, entered the height of wildfire season in the midst of one of the state's worst droughts on record, setting the stage for what fire officials fear could be a particularly intense and dangerous year. Some 15,0000 homes and businesses in and around Carlsbad received the directive to evacuate ahead of the flames, according to the city, and emergency shelters were set up at area schools and community centers. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #2 Reporting from beautiful San Diego: the local news, interviewing the various fire Heavies, have not said arson, but were very careful in choosing words. At a local eatery, I overheard another diner railing about the fact that her friend was forced to evacuate, leaving her belongings, work computer AND the dog in the house, and she was firm in her beliefs that it is arson. |
| Posted by: USN, Ret. 2014-05-15 22:21 |
| #1 Arson is suspected. |
| Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 2014-05-15 11:50 |