Photo credit: Getty Images
A wild fire continues to burn out of control in northern Los Angeles and the growing inferno has already claimed the lives of two firemen.
The wild fire which started last Wednesday, spread rapidly on Sunday, burning more than one dozen homes and threatening some 12,500 more. Firefighters worked alongside residents who are doing everything to make sure that more houses do not go up in flames.
But, two firemen were not so fortunate, as their vehicle rolled down an embankment while trying to retreat from the blaze. The Line Of Duty Deaths were Tedmund “Ted” Hall and Firefighter Specialist Arnaldo “Arnie” Quinones.
Up until Sunday, the largest blaze was only 5 percent contained and some 70 square miles in the Angeles National Forest had been scorched.
California’s Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, attending the funeral of his late Uncle, Senator Ted Kennedy, in Washington, D.C., flew back immediately to his home state, as soon as the proceedings were concluded.
“This is a huge and very dangerous fire,” Mr. Schwarzenegger said. He pleaded with residents to leave if and when evacuation orders come. “They won’t tell you to evacuate if it is not necessary” said the Governor.
Meanwhile, as the fire threatens major communication towers serving Los Angeles, Verizon has increased its support for firefighters in the field and evacuees at shelters in Los Angeles County.
Verizon is providing additional wired phones, wireless broadband modems and mobile phones to help firefighters coordinate their attacks on the wildfires in the Angeles National Forest and the San Jacinto Mountains.
The telecoms giant has deployed, at no cost, 130 cellphones, 55 Mobile Broadband cards for Internet access and two high-speed Internet connections, to help firefighters stay connected during the wildfires that has already engulfed more than 40,000 acres.
