The inferno in Southern California continues but a glimpse of hope came in the form of the winds calming down.
On Wednesday, winds dropped to 21 to 36 mph, far less than the 100 mph winds earlier this week.
The winds have helped helicopters, air tankers, and firefighters alike. Firefighters pushed back most of the destructive blazes while helicopters and air tankers water dumping was not all for not when earlier winds spread out their loads lessening the effect on the fires.
Despite the calming winds and progression of all the firefighters, helicopters, and air tankers, zero of the six major blazes in San Diego County were more than 15 percent contained.
More than 1,500 homes are destroyed and 674 square miles of land burned between Ventura and into Mexico.
News Values:
Impact: Biggest story not in California, but in the entire world.
Proximity: This fire is affecting people in San Jose with loved ones in San Diego. I know countless students with family and friends who have either evacuated north or are stuck where they are. Even one of the professors in the Journalism department I know of was out today.
Controversy: Are FEMA doing a better job than Katrina? From the looks of it they do seem to be doing a better job than Katrina. Their response has been much faster and evacuations went pretty much without delay. Are we going to continue building in known hot spots where wild fires continually happen over and over?
Timeliness: This is the biggest evacuation in California history. Enough said.
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