250 flee wildfire as homes destroyed

A WILDFIRE destroyed four homes and forced about 250 people to flee their homes as it roared through 1,100 acres of rolling, oak-studded hills, US authorities said last night.

The fire was 20% contained on Sunday night and was threatening as many as 20 homes near the community of Santa Margarita, said Nena Portillo of the California Department of Forestry.

The fire, reported to authorities at about 3.15pm, was caused by a spark from an off-road vehicle, and the driver was cited for having a modified exhaust system, Portillo said.

The blaze erupted in brushy cattle country about 200 miles north of Los Angeles. It is the same area where a blaze destroyed a home last summer and nine homes and more than 106,000 acres of brush were burned by a wildfire in 1996.

Meanwhile, a lightning-sparked wildfire that scorched nearly 18,000 acres of brush in eastern San Diego County was 49% contained, fire officials said.

More than 2,000 firefighters were battling the fire, which began on July 16. Full containment was expected tomorrow.

Elsewhere, a wildfire raged through about 1,300 acres of timber and grasslands in eastern Washington state, burning some buildings and forcing people to flee their homes.

About 15 to 20 homes were evacuated and people were sent to an evacuation centre at Cheney United Methodist Church, said Brett Walker of the state Department of Natural Resources.

The fire was burning about five miles southwest of Cheney at the intersection of Watt and Ritchey roads. The cause of the blaze, which began on Sunday, was not known.

Fire Chief Bruce Holloway of Spokane County Fire District 3 said he did not know whether the structures were houses or outbuildings.