California fires ‘worst for years’

Southern California remains on high alert today, as hot dry desert winds continue to fuel wildfires threatening the city of Los Angeles. Hundreds of homes have been destroyed, and firefighters are praying for a change in the weather.

More than ten thousand people have fled their homes in Sylmar, as fires in the Angeles National Forest surged into the San Fernando Valley. Further north in Montecito, home to many tv and film stars, the flames are marching on.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has declared a state of emergency, in the face of California’s worst fires this decade. “We think it is the most beautiful area in the world,” he said. “There is just nothing like it. But when you walk around the area that is devastated, it looks like Hell.”

Fires are now raging north and south of Los Angeles. Interstate 5, the main highway heading north, has been closed, and power lines have been cut, threatening the city with rolling blackouts.

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