California and New Mexico wildfires refuse to be subdued

Firefighters were unable to subdue raging wildfires in California and New Mexico Sunday. The Powerhouse fire in California had burned 25,000 acres and flushed about 2,800 people out of their homes in the Lake Hughes and Elizabeth Lake areas in favor of safer vantage points, the Los Angeles Times reported. The conflagration, which consumed six homes, was only 20 percent contained Sunday night, the newspaper said. Winds kept the fire racing into the evening, but U.S. Forest Service Division Supervisor Jesse Knox said lower temperatures in the forecast were cause for optimism. "We expect this fire to lay down" Sunday night, he said. "We are trying to get around it and hem it in." Los Angeles County Fire Chief Daryl Osby firefighting aircraft were key components in saving structures. "I think this made a significant difference," Osby said. KRQE-TV, Albuquerque, reported the Tres Lagunas fire had burned nearly 7,500 acres. Crews had established containment lines in several areas, and helicopters were dropping retardant and water. No structures had been damaged by the fire, but evacuation orders remained in place. The Santa Fe New Mexican reported the day started with the fire totally uncontained and a forecast calling for lightning and winds was worrisome to fire officials, though precipitation would be welcome. A second New Mexico blaze, the Thompson fire in the Jemez Mountains, had burned about 800 acres, the Albuquerque Journal reported.