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 Posted: Mon Nov 17, 2008 2:59 am Post subject: California fires claim 1000 homes |
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California fires destroy 1 000 homes
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombing_of_Tokyo_in_World_War_II
The US Strategic Bombing Survey later estimated that nearly 88,000
people died in this one raid, 41,000 were injured, and over a million
residents lost their homes. The Tokyo Fire Department estimated a
higher toll: 97,000 killed and 125,000 wounded.
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November 16, 2008 -
By Jill Serjeant and Dan Whitcomb
http://www.swissinfo.ch
.. You are in: swissinfo.ch > news > international >
..
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Wildfires hop-scotched around Southern
California on Sunday although calmer winds slowed flames that have
destroyed almost 1,000 houses, forced tens of thousands to evacuate
and turned some neighbourhoods into scenes resembling war zones.
A pall of towering, choking smoke blocked out the sun in much of the
Los Angeles area and in Orange County to the south-east after flames
ripped through tinder-dry brush.
The fires jumped freeways and reduced mobile homes, multimillion
dollar mansions and apartment blocks to ashes in about a dozen
communities.
"I'm just seeing a lot of burnt fields, smoke, burnt down houses,"
said Nicole Gephardt as she looked out towards the Orange County area
of Yorba Linda. "This is crazy knowing this is my community and it
looks like a war zone."
Officials said wildfires have scorched more than 20,000 acres over
the past four days in foothills north of Los Angeles,
in Orange County canyons, and in the hilly celebrity enclave of
Montecito near Santa Barbara. The fires broke out there on Thursday
and incinerated 210 homes before being bought under control.
The causes of the fires were not known.
http://alertedeye.files.wordpress.com/2007/02/girl.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombing_of_Tokyo_in_World_War_II
..
Evacuation orders were lifted for more than half the estimated 50,000
people who fled their homes, but new fires threatened more than 3,500
houses. Fire officials said it would take days to extinguish all the
blazes.
"This has been a very tough few days for the people of Southern
California. We had the perfect storm -- high winds, high
temperatures and it is very, very dry," California Gov. Arnold
Schwarzenegger told a news conference.
SEARCH FOR BODIES
In a Los Angeles mobile home park in Sylmar, where fire devastated
500 trailers overnight, police using nine cadaver dogs began a search
for bodies of elderly residents who authorities fear may not have
been able to get out in time.
"Fire raged through that park so quickly there was no way of stopping
it. It was like matches," Schwarzenegger said.
Police said they had reports of missing persons but had accounted for
only 134 residents.
"At this point no human remains have been found," said Los Angeles
Deputy Police Chief Michael Moore.
In Orange County, Janet Cunningham, 91, said she was given five
minutes to leave her Yorba Linda home at dawn.
White ash fell on cars and acrid smoke filled the air as far as 25
miles (40 km) away from the fires. Health authorities urged the
elderly and children to stay indoors.
In October 2007, 30 blazes raged across Southern California for
almost a week, forcing evacuation of more than 500,000 people and
damaging some 2,000 homes.
(Editing by Chris Wilson)
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"I'm just seeing a lot of burnt fields, smoke, burnt down houses,"
said Nicole Gephardt as she looked out towards the Orange County area
of Yorba Linda. "This is crazy knowing this is my community and it
looks like a war zone."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombing_of_Tokyo_in_World_War_II
The US Strategic Bombing Survey later estimated that nearly 88,000
people died in this one raid, 41,000 were injured, and over a million
residents lost their homes. The Tokyo Fire Department estimated a
higher toll: 97,000 killed and 125,000 wounded. The Tokyo
Metropolitan Police Department established a figure of 124,711
casualties including
both killed and wounded and 286,358 buildings and homes destroyed.
Richard Rhodes, historian, put deaths at over 100,000, injuries at a
million and homeless residents at a million.
..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombing_of_Kobe_in_World_War_II
On March 17, 1945, 331 American B-29 bombers launched a firebombing
attack against the city of Kobe, Japan. Of the city's residents,
8,841 were confirmed to have been killed in the resulting firestorms,
which destroyed an area of three square miles and included 21% of
Kobe's urban area. At the time, the city covered an area of 14 square
miles (36 kmē). More than 650,000 people had their homes destroyed,
and the
homes of another million people were damaged.
On June 5 that same year, Kobe was bombed again. Incendiaries dropped
from 473 bombers destroyed 4.4 square miles (11 km2) of the city. |
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