California Firefighters Catch A Break

Firefighters battling a raging wildfire in the Sierra Nevada foothills of northern California caught a break early Friday when strong winds they expected did not immediately materialize. Residents in the Spokane Valley in eastern Washington state fled a fire that destroyed seven homes.

The winds in California were expected to be similar to ones that caused the blaze in Butte County north of Sacramento to flare up earlier this week, destroying about 50 homes and forcing 10,000 residents to evacuate. But they were mild early Friday, CalFire spokesman Fred Orsborn said.

"They were getting little gusts, but nothing like they anticipated," Orsborn said.

Firefighters on Thursday positioned themselves on the banks of the Feather River opposite the town of Paradise, where a wildfire last month forced thousands of evacuations and destroyed 74 homes.

In Washington state, firefighters renewed the battle at daybreak against a wildfire that erupted Thursday in a heavily wooded part of the Spokane Valley, destroying seven homes and one other structure and forcing 200 residents to evacuate.

The National Weather Service said winds would be light Friday, compared to the 50 mph blasts Thursday that sent flames out of control.

No injuries have been reported.

Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire said she approved requests by Spokane and Ferry counties for emergency declarations to make state resources available to help fight the fires.

Officials said heavy smoke and tree cover made it difficult to assess the damage from the suburban Spokane wildfire, which remained out of control. The cause of that blaze, which grew to nearly 2 square miles, was not immediately known.

In California, about 40 fires ignited by lightning storms have burned more than 76 square miles in Butte County alone in the past two weeks. By Thursday, about 15 of the fires were active.

On the state's central coast, a 154-square-mile fire along scenic Big Sur claimed some outbuildings at the historic Tassajara Zen Mountain Center monastery. But the center's director, David Zimmerman, reported on its Web site Thursday evening that the complex had mostly survived.

Authorities had issued new mandatory evacuation orders late Wednesday for about 50 homes along a rugged road leading to the Zen center. But five monks decided to stay and make a stand against the fire. The blaze is about 41 percent contained and has destroyed at least 27 homes.

Down the coast, a separate blaze in the Santa Ynez Mountains near Santa Barbara had blackened more than 15 square miles and was 75 percent contained. And at the southern tip of Sequoia National Forest, 90 miles north of Los Angeles, a 54-square-mile blaze was almost a third contained.

On Thursday, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger requested more resources from President George W. Bush, and officials at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said they were reviewing the request.

White House press secretary Dana Perino said that Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne and Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer had spoken with Gov. Schwarzenegger.

"They discussed the vast efforts that are already underway to combat the blazes and options for additional assistance to meet the Governor's requests that were made earlier yesterday. This includes additional helicopters, training, and team leaders," Perino said.

She said that Schwarzenegger "expressed that he was satisfied with the federal response to date and his appreciation for the priority that the federal government is placing on providing additional help."

She said approximately 80 percent of the federal firefighting force is now in California. There are 110 federal helicopters there.