June 22, 2008 Firefighters battle hundreds of wildfires

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - Hundreds of wildfires sparked by
lightning flared Sunday across the heart of wine country and remote
forests in Northern California, the latest batch of destructive
blazes in the bone-dry state.

One had spread across nearly 6 square miles by early Sunday
after starting the previous afternoon in Napa County and quickly
moving into a mostly rural area of Solano County.

The fire threatened more than 100 buildings as it fed on grassy
woodland about 40 miles southwest of Sacramento, said Roger Archey,
a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire
Protection, or Cal Fire.

It was 10 percent contained Sunday morning and had destroyed one
home, Archey said. Evacuations were ordered for some residents,
said agency spokeswoman Nancy Carniglia.

Wildfires have destroyed more than 175 homes in Northern
California so far this year. Blazes started popping up in the
region just as California's unofficial fire season began in
mid-May, following the state's driest two-month period on record.

A blaze about 25 miles south of San Jose forced several
residents from their homes Sunday, though officials did not have
exact figures. That fire covered nearly 2 square miles and was only
10 percent contained. It also was blamed on lightning.

Thunderstorms were responsible for as many as 75 fires in
Shasta-Trinity National

Mendocino County had as many as 90 fires, ranging in size up to
125 acres, Cal Fire officials said.

South of San Francisco, a fire that destroyed homes and closed a
stretch of highway was 90 percent contained after charring just
less than a square mile. Evacuation orders were lifted Saturday, a
day after roughly 2,000 people fled their homes.

It was the third major blaze to hit Santa Cruz County in the
past month. A 520-acre blaze destroyed 11 buildings in the Santa
Cruz Mountains, and a fire near Corralitos covered more than 4,200
acres and destroyed about 100 buildings.

Along the coast in the Los Padres National Forest, a wildfire
burning since Saturday forced 75 homes and businesses to be
evacuated. And just miles away, firefighters worked to stanch a
huge fire that has destroyed two homes since it began two weeks
ago. It was nearly 60 percent contained after charring 83 square
miles.

Near the Nevada border, authorities said Sunday that they are
studying a "person of interest" in last summer's catastrophic
Lake Tahoe wildfire but lack enough evidence to make an arrest.

Tuesday will mark the one-year anniversary of the blaze, which
destroyed 254 homes, caused $140 million in property damage and
scorched nearly 5 square miles. Investigators think the fire
started with stray embers from an illegal campfire at a popular
party spot.

In New Mexico, hundreds of firefighters battled blazes that had
charred more than 100 square miles, including more than 4,000 acres
on a ranch owned by media mogul Ted Turner.

The largest fire, 20 miles southwest of Hope, N.M., was 35
percent contained after charring about 64 square miles.

The fires were feeding on grass, brush, cacti and some pinon
pine and juniper trees. No structures were threatened.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)