Fire Department vehicles are seen as a fire burns alongside a road near Carbon Canyon park in Brea, California November 16, 2008. Los Angeles firefighters on Sunday battled wind-whipped blazes raging around the second-largest U.S. city that have destroyed hundreds of homes and forced thousands of people into shelters.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    LOS ANGELES, Nov. 16 (Xinhua) -- With winds calming down, firefighters were working hard to further control a wildfire that terrified thousands residents near Los Angeles, authorities said on Sunday.

    Firefighters were creating a larger fire break, and expect to use significant air resources to battle the fire that had been raging in the San Fernando and Santa Clarita valleys at the weekend.

    The fire was 30 percent contained as of Sunday morning. Firefighters said they expected to get all available fixed-wing craft and helicopters up in the air later in the day.

    "It's not as much of a wind-driven fire today," said Los Angeles County fire Inspector Sam Padilla. "Winds are sustained at15 to 20 miles (24 to 32 kilometers) per hour with gusts up to 30 miles (48 kilometers) per hour," he added, saying that high winds on Saturday limited use of air resources.

    Though TV helicopters were not showing visible flames, Padilla said the fire continued to burn in some areas area and 1,100 firefighters currently working would be joined by more resources throughout the day.

    Five firefighters suffered what were described as minor injuries, and one civilian was burned, he said.

    The cause of the fire has not been determined.

    The fire, pushed by gusts up to 80 mph, eventually spread over some 9,500 acres (3,847 hectares) and forced the evacuation of about 10,000 residents, said county fire Inspector Sam Padilla.

    California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency in Los Angeles County, clearing the way for state and federal aid to the city and victims.

    Los Angeles police arrested five people on suspicion of looting in the fire-stricken area, much of which was left without electricity.

Fire fighters strike crew head into the night as they gear up to fight a wild fire as it approaches Carbon Canyon road near Brea, California November 16, 2008.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

Devastating fires still rage across S California


    LOS ANGELES, Nov. 16 (Xinhua) -- Several major fires still raged across Southern California on Sunday as firefighters were working against time to contain the devastating blazes.

    Aided by record November heat and low humidity in the past few days, the fires were burning large areas of land, destroying hundreds of homes, sending thousands fleeing for safety and testing the stamina and resources of weary firefighters. Full story

Residents warned of poor air quality in fire zones

    LOS ANGELES, Nov. 15 (Xinhua) -- As wildfires are flaring across Southern California this weekend, health officials issued warnings of poor air quality on Saturday.

    "What we're forecasting is that the air quality will be unhealthy for everyone" in areas where wildfires were raging, said Sam Atwood, a spokesman for the South Coast Air Quality Management District. Full story

State of emergency declared in Los Angeles while fire raging

    LOS ANGELES, Nov. 15 (Xinhua) -- California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency in Los Angeles County on Saturday following the loss of at least 165 homes by a raging wildfire fire.

    The brush fire, drive gusts that reached 70 mph overnight and into Saturday morning, has burned 2,600 acres (about 1,053 hectares) of land and prompted authorities to order the evacuation of 10,000 residents. Full story

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