As many as 40,000 residents from the Inland Empire, Orange County, and Los Angeles County were ordered to evacuate from their homes as out of control blazes scorched Southern California over the weekend. Hundreds of homes have been destroyed, thousands of acres blackened, lives and nerves have been rattled.
In Corona and Yorba Linda the fires forced the closures of the 91 and 57 freeways as some residents watched helplessly, unable to go home, and unable to gather their belongings.
In Sylmar hundreds of homes burned while 8,000 acres were ablaze. That fire is 40% contained at this point.
On some highways cars were abandoned as people fled the area on foot as the fires came closer to the traffic choked roadways.
Governor Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency in Los Angeles County a day after he did so for Santa Barbara County, where 183 homes had burned in the Tea Fire near Montecito.
Firefighters from all over California, and some from neighboring states, worked together to battle these blazes, and are now beginning to partially contain the fires.
No deaths or injuries have been immediately reported. Five people were arrested for looting.
Although the Santa Ana winds were part of the problem in enabling the fires to spread quickly, sending embers sometimes miles in the air, only for them to land and start a new fire amidst other areas full of fuel, the Santa Ana winds have also been part of the reason that air quality has remained good.
On Monday it is expected that many of the residences of the fire ravaged areas will be able to return to their neighborhoods.
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