Break in weather slows California wildfires
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California wildfires that have destroyed 1,300 homes and forced the evacuation of 500,000 people raged into a fifth day on Thursday, but firefighters seized on a break in the weather to largely halt the march of destruction.
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Lower temperatures and some overnight rain helped slow an enormous wildfire that had destroyed 20 homes and led to evacuation orders for hundreds of people.
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After a week of battling high temperatures, gusty winds and lightning, firefighters caught a break when a storm system bringing higher humidity helped them tame wildfires throughout the state.
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Firefighters gained the upper hand on nearly all of the California wildfires on Thursday as winds died down after five days battling 20 fires from the mountains north of Los Angeles down to the Mexican border.
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The hot, dry Santa Ana winds were waning Wednesday, a boon for firefighters and Southern Californians who hope the lull in "devil winds" is more than a respite.
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With the firesâ advance slowed by a decline in the Santa Ana winds and with cooler weather moving in, another phase of firefighting has begun.
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Santa Anna winds that fanned Southern California's wildfires were expected to weaken Wednesday and a gradual cooling trend was anticipated by Thursday.
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By The Associated Press  LAKE ARROWHEAD -- Two wind-fanned fires erupted Tuesday in the forests of Southern California, as a moist ocean breeze helped slow a massive blaze burning for more than two weeks near the coast.
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LAKE ARROWHEAD, Calif. - Two wildfires erupted Tuesday in the forests of Southern California as a moist ocean breeze helped slow a huge blaze that has burned for more than two weeks near the coast.
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Firefighters struggled to maintain their containment lines around several California wildfires as storms rolled into the state Tuesday, bringing lightning and high winds.
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Ten wind-driven wildfires raged across Southern California on Monday, keeping thousands of evacuees from returning home for a second day, while authorities forecast two more days of extreme fire conditions.
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By Gillian Flaccus THE ASSOCIATED PRESS  OJAI -- Firefighters, aided by calmer winds and aircraft dropping water and fire-smothering chemicals, gained ground Sunday against a wildfire that has burned more than 200 square miles in the Los Padres National Forest.
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Wildfires burned unchecked on Tuesday in Southern California from Santa Barbara to the Mexican border, with hundreds of thousands of people forced to evacuate, at least 700 homes destroyed, and little hope for relief from the hot desert winds fanning the flames.
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Cooler temperatures and higher humidity helped firefighters Monday as they got closer to fully containing one of the largest wildfires in California history.
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A slow-rolling series of storms that battered the West this week brought snowfall and high wind Thursday to parts of California, where weather-weary residents have already endured lashing rain, heavy snowfall and a destructive tornado. Since the wild weather began slogging ashore Monday, five deaths in California and two in Colorado have been blamed on storms. Searchers on Thursday recovered what they believed were the bodies of two missing college students who had vanished after their canoe capsized in a flooded Arizona creek.
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Conditions that created what California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger dubbed "the perfect storm for fire" eased Wednesday, helping firefighters gain ground against devastating Southern California wildfires.
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SAN FRANCISCO Sept. 5, 2004 - Hot dry winds hampered the efforts of firefighters battling a 9,200-acre wildfire in California wine country on Sunday, and promised no respite for the next two days.