Southern California on Fire

The fire reached from the coastal community of Santa Barbra to inland Riverside County

LOS ANGELES (Catholic Online) - Sunday was the fourth day of devastating flames and the accompanying fearful destruction which has consumed Southern California. Tens of thousands of residents have been forced to flee their homes.

Adding to the horror, major freeways were shut down as the fire's hungry flames and the accompanying extraordinary winds caused an almost apocalyptic inferno.

The good news is that no deaths have been reported thus far though over twenty people have been injured. The Los Angeles Police fear that the residents of a 500 unit mobile home community, the hardest hit, are not yet all accounted for and they continue to search the rubble.

The fire reached from the coastal community of Santa Barbra to inland Riverside County. Los Angeles has been smothered in a dangerous cloud of smoke as a result of the inferno. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has declared an emergency in Los Angeles and many of the surrounding areas are under orders to evacuate.

As has been the case in the recent pas in California, the dry Santa Ana winds which blow through between October and February have provided a fertile environment for the spread of this fearful and ferocious fire.

The fire at last report was 40% contained. The cause is under investigation.

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