Hundreds evacuated as forest blazes

A huge wildfire grew significantly in a US national forest, raining ash on communities miles away and forcing hundreds of people to evacuate their rural homes and campsites.The month-old fire in northern Santa Barbara County in California has burned an estimated 60 square miles and was 70 percent contained.However, fire officials said the fire had grown.Authorities had told hundreds of people to evacuate,said William Boyer,a county spokesman.No homes were immediately threatened,Boyer said, but evacuation was ordered because"the way the fire is moving,we want to give them enough time to get out".The area is crowded with thousands of visitors for Santa Barbara's annual Old Spanish Days Fiesta.Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger was in the area and declared a state of emergency in the county to free up state resources for fighting the fire.The blaze was started on July 4 by sparks from equipment repairing a water pipe.To date,the fire has cost more than 42 million dollars to fight.Firefighters battled blazes across the West and another in the eastern state of New Jersey.In southwestern Montana,25 houses threatened by a wind-whipped fire were ordered to evacuate about 20 miles from Philipsburg,said Karen Semple,a fire information officer.The houses are east of a 2,400-acre fire,she said.Other residents north of Helena who fled a 49-square-mile fire on Thursday night were allowed to return to their homes.Crews had contained 33 percent of the fire burning in the Gates of the Mountains Wilderness since July 21.
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=paWildfires_Sat8_US_fires&show_article=1&catnum=0
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