


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE-EMERGENCYNET NEWS SVC.-11/27/93-1530CDT

WILDFIRES ENGULF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, FIREFIGHTERS INJURED

Los Angeles, CA - Santa Anna winds clocked at 50-60 m.p.h.
are pushing as many as ten separate brushfires in six (6)
Southern California counties this morning.  The fires, which
began at approximately 4:30 a.m. this morning, have engulfed
more than 35,000 acres of valuable canyon land and destroyed
more than one hundred and fifty (150) luxury homes. Portions
of the Pacific Coast Highway are said to be closed as they
have been covered by smoke and fire.  The largest of the
fires is centered in the vicinity of Altadena, CA and that
fire is said to have consumed more than 5,000 acres by
itself.

Early this morning, as the Santa Anna winds kicked up, Engine
Company #98 of the Los Angeles City Fire Department was
overrun by a rapidly spreading "firestorm" in a residential
area.  The result was the severe injury of four (4)
firefighters, including a Captain, Engineer, and two
firefighters.  One firefighters is said to have
suffered such severe injuries that he can't be moved from a
local trauma center to a specialized burn center.  An
emergency medical services (EMS) spokesman said that one
firefighter had suffered second degree burns over 60% of his
body and airway injuries from breathing superheated gases.

Firefighters say that several of the fires are completely out
of control, and that the blazes are being fed by a hot, dry
wind that is gusting at speeds up to 60 m.p.h. A spokesperson
for the Orange County Fire service said that they are
utilizing all of their resources to protect and evacuate
people first, and then focusing on the protection of
property.  One Battalion Fire Chief said that they are not
concentrating on the brush itself, but rather, trying to
"surround the perimeters" of the fires with fire lines and
tanker drops.

Several helicopters from the Los Angeles County Fire
Department were seen attempting to analyze the size and
movement of the various fires, while others were seen making
water drops on residential areas.  A U.S. Forest Service
tanker-plane was also seen working in the Altadena area.
Pilots complained that flights were extremely hazardous due
to shifting winds that swirled throughout the canyon areas.
Several flights were reportedly cancelled or terminated due
to what were being described as "wind shears" by the
emergency service pilots.

Fire ground units repeatedly reported that they were unable
to obtain adequate water supplies in many neighborhoods.  One
L.A. County Battalion Chief said that hydrants were dry or
providing only a trickle of water, and that many residents
were seen using garden hoses to wet-down their individual
residencies.  Another firefighter complained that many
residents had turned on sprinkler systems before fleeing in
advance of the rapidly spreading fire, and that water was
seen running futilely from the charred remnants of garden
hoses in several yards.  Tanker-trucks, full of water, are
reportedly being requested from as far North as San
Francisco.

Early this morning a major fire in the Altadena/Pasadena area
threatened the St. Luke's Medical Center and two nearby
nursing homes, forcing a complete evacuation.  A Pasadena
Firefighter-Paramedic said that as many as two dozen (24)
ambulances were needed to move more than one hundred and
fifty (150) patients to Huntington Beach Hospital in Arcadia,
CA and to other facilities not threatened by the spreading
fires.  Katy Fankey, a spokesperson for St. Luke's Hospital,
said that the entire hospital had been evacuated, except
the doctors and nurses working in the Emergency Room, who
were said to be assisting paramedics with those that had been
injured or displaced by the fire.

To further complicate matters, this afternoon, firefighters
in Glendale, CA were called to a multiple alarm residential
fire near downtown Glendale. Reports from KTLA television
showed four residential structures burning, with two houses
totally involved in flames.  A nearby factory was also
threatened by the conflagration that was being spread by high
winds.  Reportedly, this fire was not associated with the
other fires that had occurred within the county, as the
nearest wildfire was more than ten (10) miles away.

By mid-afternoon, environmental air quality specialists were
expressing their concern for people with known respiratory
and cardiac problems. Temperatures in the mid-80s, combined
with normal smog, and the gathering clouds of smoke are said
to be cause for concern.  A doctor from the nearby UCLA
Medical Center said that people with asthma, emphysema, and
cardiac conditions should remain indoors and avoid breathing
the air that is filled with particulate matter from the
fires.  He also warned people in neighborhoods with ongoing
fires that they can suffer smoke inhalation, even when
outdoors.  He urged early evacuation of people in affected
areas.

In all, more than fourteen separate fires are said to be
burning out of control in a wide area surrounding Los
Angeles County.  Sporadic reports have been received of
"wildfires" spreading from as far South as San Diego County
and as far North as Ventura County.  This afternoon,
California Governor Pete Wilson is said to be flying to the
Los Angeles area to help to assess the severity of the fire
emergency and to begin to decide the necessity of activation
of California National Guard Units.  Reportedly, California
officials have notified the Federal Emergency Management
Agency (FEMA) to monitor the situation in anticipation of a
state/federal disaster declaration.

Los Angeles area fire officials say that their resources are
currently stretched to the limits and that they are
requesting "mutual aid" from other California fire
departments.  An emergency management spokesperson said that
more than four hundred (400) firefighters are committed to
the Altadena/Pasadena fire alone, and that no containment of
any of the fires has been achieved.  In fact, one fire chief,
who asked not to be named, said that these may be the worst
fires that have occurred in the Los Angeles basin in the past
twenty (20) years.  He compared them to the 1991 Oakland
wildfires, but, multiplied by the ten (10) different fire
locations.

To make matters worse, weather forecasters continue to call
for Santa Anna winds for the next two days, and they say that
there is no prospect of rain to assist the weary firefighters
until Saturday or Sunday.  Temperatures are expected to
continue in the mid to upper 80's, with moderate humidity.
Firefighters say that these weather conditions are favorable
for the continued spread of the raging wildfires.

                            -30-
 
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