Jun 16, 2008 5:26 am US/Pacific
Fire Knocks Out Power To 18,000 In Paradise
PARADISE (AP) ―
Fire crews have successfully tamped down a series of Northern California wildfires, but the waning fire in Butte County still managed to knock out power for thousands of Paradise residents.
So far at least 74 homes have been destroyed and another 20 damaged in Paradise, located about 90 miles north of Sacramento.
As evacuees were allowed to re-enter the area Sunday, the last power line providing electricity to the town went down, said Gregg Fishman, a spokesman for the California Independent System Operator, which runs the power grid for most of the state.
The outage affected 18,000 Pacific Gas & Electric customers, said Brandi Ehlers, a PG&E spokeswoman.
"We are patrolling the lines and looking into fixing the problem and what's going on," she said. "We're not quite sure when the repairs will be completed, however we are trying to reroute power to some customers."
Meanwhile, firefighters were spending another dry, windy day cutting fire lines to halt the blaze, which has scorched about 36 square miles, said Scott Upton, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
The wildfire was 80 percent contained after a blustery couple of days, and Upton said crews expected to have it fully surrounded by Monday.
"They're just being very vigilant and not easing up now that the fire is coming under containment," Upton said. Five firefighters suffered minor injuries battling the blaze.
The cause of the fire remained under investigation.
In recent days, high temperatures, steady wind and tinder-dry vegetation contributed to wildfires around the state.
In Santa Cruz County, firefighters got a handle on a wildfire that has charred nearly one square mile and burned at least three homes and eight other buildings in the Bonny Doon community. All evacuation orders were lifted but some roads remained closed Sunday morning as fire officials reported the blaze 95 percent contained.
(© 2008 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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