California Weather Turns Favorable to Fight Fires (Update3)
Source: Bloomberg ()
By Chris Dolmetsch and Peter J. Brennan
Oct. 25 (Bloomberg) — The hot, dry winds fueling Southern
California's wildfires died down today and moist ocean air was
forecast, a welcome break for firefighters battling blazes that
have destroyed almost 3,000 homes and businesses.
The fires may cost insurers $1.6 billion, an estimate that
could rise if they continue to spread, making them among the
costliest in California history, said Risk Management Solutions,
a London-based disaster modeler for insurers.
Estimates of the number of people who were ordered from
their homes or left voluntarily this week ranged from 800,000 to
1 million, the biggest evacuation in California history, but the
Los Angeles Times said the numbers likely were much smaller at
any one time.
President George W. Bush, leaving the White House on his
way to California today to survey the damage, said the federal
government would deploy all available assets to help fight the
flames. Bush declared a “major disaster'' in the region.
“There will be help for the people of California,'' Bush
said. “We've got some incredibly brave citizens who are risking
their lives to protect people and property in California, and we
owe a great debt of gratitude to our nation's firefighters.''
The president plans to take an aerial tour of the San Diego
and Escondido area, followed by briefings from Governor Arnold
Schwarzenegger, state and local officials, and lunch with
firefighters.
Bush Assures Residents
“I fully understand that the people have got a lot of
anguish in their hearts and they just need to know a lot of folks
care about them,'' Bush said.
The National Weather Service is forecasting higher humidity
and lower wind speeds until tomorrow. Santa Ana winds, which
bring hot air from deserts in the eastern part of the state, may
collide with breezes from the ocean and cause …