
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, July 2, 1990                   TAG: 9007020053
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE: SANTA BARBARA, CALIF.                                LENGTH: Short

CALIF. FIRES IN CONTROL; NOW REBUILDING BEGINS

Fires that caused hundreds of millions of dollars in damage are under control, but residents were preparing Sunday for the next wave that could strike any time in the drought-plagued region.

The widely scattered fires - ranging from Santa Barbara 200 miles south to San Diego County, killed two people, destroyed or damaged 570 homes and burned 22,000 acres, officials said.

Early estimates of the financial loss topped $250 million. At least five of the fires were believed set, officials said.

While homeowners whose dwellings escaped the fires trimmed trees and cleared shrubs to deny any future fires fuel, officials warned that residents may find relief short-lived in a region left tinder-dry by four years of drought. - Associated Press

by CNB