More evacuations as California fires reach tourist areas

0 Comments | AFP, July, 2008

LOS ANGELES (AFP) — California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger on Wednesday ordered the evacuation of about 200 homes in the fire-threatened coastal resort of Big Sur as 1,400 wildfires raged out of control across parts of the state.

Thousands of exhausted firefighters have been struggling to contain several blazes in the region 125 miles (200 kilometers) south of San Francisco, where popular tourist sites lie in and around the Los Padres National Forest.

"We have a very stubborn fire here," Schwarzenegger told a gathering of emergency services personnel in Big Sur, noting that two firefighters had been injured.

The area is a tourist mecca in summer, with scores of popular hiking and camping sites. Hundreds of hotels, resorts and restaurants boasting precious...