Brush Fires Rage Throughout California

An arsonist was blamed for a 2,800-acre fire raging through heavy brush and steep terrain near Big Sur, officials said Sunday, and several firefighters have been injured battling a 3,500-acre blaze in Lassen County.

Another blaze was out of control Sunday in the Laguna Mountains, scorching more than 1,000 acres of a campground and an Indian reservation 40 miles east of San Diego, officials said.

Investigators of the Big Sur fire found an incendiary device near the Pacific Coast Highway, where the blaze erupted Saturday, the California Department of Forestry said, adding that there were no suspects.

The fire, near Molera State Park, about 120 miles south of San Francisco, was 30% contained by late Sunday. Officials, however, said they did not expect full containment before 6 p.m. today. No structures have been damaged.

Near Janesville, in Lassen County, firefighters used bulldozers to cut a firebreak as wide as an eight-lane freeway, hoping to keep the wind-fanned blaze in check, said Forestry Department spokesman Larry Lathrop in Susanville.

Winds Hold the Key

“The critical thing is if the lines can hold against the winds,” he said. “If we can, we’ve got it. But if the wind kicks it over, we’re back to square one.”

The fire, which began Friday night, destroyed two mobile homes, a house, three barns and numerous outbuildings.

On Saturday, four firefighters from an engine crew were overwhelmed by a surge of flame and all scrambled under their portable aluminum shelters but suffered first- and second-degree burns.

Helicopter Crash

A helicopter also crash-landed in the area, but the pilot was unhurt. Earlier, two firefighters on trucks suffered smoke inhalation and a third firefighter was treated for heat exhaustion.

The fire was 50% contained Sunday, but officials had no estimate on when it would be fully contained.

No injuries were reported in the out-of-control fire in San Diego County, but an undetermined number of people at the Rancherie campground were asked to evacuate voluntarily, the U.S. Forest Service said.

Started on U.S. Land

The blaze started Sunday on national forest land, and crossed into state-owned forest land by Sunday afternoon, officials said. No structures were damaged and strike teams were protecting buildings on the Cuyapaipe Indian Reservation.

In Butte County, a blaze that charred 750 acres and destroyed four homes was declared contained with a mop-up crew of 30 firefighters and several engines remaining to assure complete control Sunday night. “It’s looking real good,” a spokesman said.

A suspected arson fire Sunday destroyed 15 acres of brush in the Hollywood Hills, but there was no damage to nearby homes. An unidentified man was being questioned by Los Angeles police arson investigators after the fire in the 7200 block of Hillside Avenue.