TOM VERDIN
Associated Press Writer
WEAVERVILLE, Calif. (AP) _ Flames burned through houses and businesses after a fast-moving wildfire forced officials to evacuate more than half of this former mining town of 3,550.
Residents who fled Tuesday night with handfuls of belongings waited to hear if they still had homes. They were ordered to evacuate after high wind fanned the blaze toward the town, about 200 miles north of San Francisco, said California Department of Forestry spokesman Steve Gasaway.
The fire had destroyed at least nine homes, businesses and garages. Gasaway said the full extent of the damage wasn't known. No injuries were reported.
About 100 miles to the south, a man suspected of starting a fire in which two firefighting pilots died when their planes clipped wings was expected to be arraigned Wednesday on murder charges.
The planes collided Monday over a blaze that may have broken out at an illegal methamphetamine lab in the woods near Hopland. Frank Brady, 50, of Redwood Valley was charged with two counts of murder. Richard Mortensen, 43, of San Pablo was arrested on outstanding warrants for drug and weapons charges. Prosecutor Norm Vroman said Mortensen also might be charged in the deaths.
Across the West, 26 large fires were burning Tuesday on more than 201,600 acres, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.
In Weaverville, Dan Malloy and his wife, June, managed to get some clothes, their computer, a fishing boat and their vacation tickets to Australia out of the house before they were order to leave.
``I could see the flames up on the hill coming toward us, and it was coming fast,'' said Dan Malloy, a retired teacher. ``I was trying to hose the roof down and (my wife) was trying to pack. Finally, I just said, 'Let's get out of here.'''
Dennis Hodges, manager of the Victorian Inn on the edge of town, said about 1,000 people had stopped there after a restaurant next door was turned into an evacuation shelter. According to the Red Cross, 280 people stayed in the shelter overnight.
In the parking lot, other residents slept in their cars with their pets and belongings.
Helen Robbins, 71, sat on a bench outside the hugging her knees to her chest at 2 a.m. Hours earlier, she had opened up her front door to heavy smoke.
``I started to cry I was so scared,'' she said.
She planned to wait in her car with her dog, Duke, and cockatiel, Sammy, for an update and hoped conditions wouldn't worsen.
``They say the winds are gonna come back,'' she said. ``Do you think that means the fire will come back?''
Trinity Hospital and the county jail had been evacuated earlier in the day as a precaution, said California Department of Forestry spokesman Jason Martin. The fire was burning on 1,600 acres.
The planes that collided Monday evening near Hopland were dumping fire retardant on a 250-acre wildfire. Killed were retired Navy veteran Larry Groff, 55, and Lars Stratte, 45.
Pilot Bob Valette, who had trained both men, said the firefighting efforts had been routine. ``No limits were pushed here at all,'' he said.
The cause of the collision was under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board.
The pilots were employed by San Joaquin Helicopters of Delano. The NTSB lists six accidents since 1995 involving aircraft operated by the company. Of those, a 1998 crash resulted in the death of an air tanker pilot.
Jim Josephson, president of San Joaquin Helicopters, expressed his condolences in a statement released Tuesday.
``They were highly trained, professional pilots who were dedicated to the firefighting mission,'' Josephson said.
In Southern California, authorities were investigating whether an arsonist started an 1,800-acre brush fire that destroyed at least one house in the hills north of Los Angeles and burned within a few feet of several luxury homes. The fire was largely contained Tuesday.
In Montana, Glacier National Park officials closed four campgrounds and banned trips into parts of the backcountry Tuesday as firefighters battled a 14,000-acre blaze west of the park. A dozen homes were evacuated as the lightning-sparked fire exploded Monday from 4,700 acres.
``It's all weather driven,'' said Jim Greene, head of the state Disaster and Emergency Services Division in Helena. ``If we continue to have this hot, dry weather followed by wind, we're going to continue to have a fire problem and it could continue to escalate.''
Greene's agency said Tuesday that 173 Montana National Guard troops had joined the Montana fire lines.
Fires also burned in Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.
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