September 2005 California wildfires

The September 2005 California wildfires began on September 28, 2005 as a brush fire northwest of Los Angeles, California. Growing to more than 16,000 acres (65 km²) in around 2 days, the blaze threatened homes, natural resources, power lines, and communications equipment in the Thousand Oaks region north of the Santa Monica Mountains.

Although the wind, dry conditions, and steep terrain made the work of firefighters difficult, the loss of property had been low (as of early October); according to news reports from Friday, September 30, one home and handful of outbuildings had been lost. Mandatory evacuations were in place, involving at least 1,500 residents of the area.

As of October 2, 2005, over 17,000 acres (69 km²) have been burned as a result of the wildfires. Furthermore, only 5% of the blaze was estimated to have been contained by the approximately 3,000 firefighters battling it. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4296050.stm]

Arson

The 2005 fires may have been started by an arsonist. No evidence of this has been found because the person or people who started the fires were never caught [ [http://www.lilith-ezine.com/articles/politics/California-Pyroterrorism.html California Pyroterrorism] , checked October 2007.] .

References

* [http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=17049 NASA Earth Observatory page discussing the wildfires]