Wildfires Spread in California [News]
Monday, June 30, 2008 - 13:07
in Earth & Climate
President Bush declared a state of emergency in northern California on Saturday as firefighters scrambled to control about 1,400 raging wildfires. Lightning is blamed for setting off the fires, including a massive blaze that has destroyed around 42 square miles (110 square kilometers) of forestland, along with 16 homes, and has threatened the Tassajara Zen Mountain Center, America's oldest Buddhist monastery in the Big Sur region of California.U.S. Forest Service officials told the Associated Press that they are concerned there may be more wildfires than usual this summer, given the lower-than-average rainfall and activity so early in a season that typically peaks in late July and August. [More]