LA Firefighters Catch Break From Cooler Weather - 24,000 Acres Burned

LOS ANGELES — "Cooler temperatures and higher humidity were helping firefighters battle wildfires threatening several communities in Southern California today.

In the worst outbreak, 50 miles east of Los Angeles, in Riverside County, firefighters working last night reported temperatures in the 60's, 20 degrees cooler than the night before, a trend that boded well for today's efforts, said Janet Marshall of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

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The fires, which have been an ominous and early echo of the blazes that descended on Southern California last fall, forced the evacuation of hundreds of homes Tuesday as 2,700 firefighters battled flames on half a dozen fronts. The areas affected ranged from Santa Barbara County, north of here, southward to San Diego County. Many communities are still devastated from the autumn fires. "We're starting very early," said Gloria White, a dispatcher for the Department of Forestry, which along with other agencies declared the fire season open on Monday, three weeks earlier than last year.

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As of this morning, Ms. Marshall, of the Forestry Department, said that more than 24,000 acress had burned in four counties — Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, Riverside and San Diego — and several houses and outbuildings had been destroyed."

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http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/05/national/05CND-FIRE.html