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California wildfires force thousands to flee

Sunday, August 30, 2009 LOS ANGELES: Fires in central and southern California raged Saturday as triple-digit temperatures mixed with dry conditions continued to fuel the flames, torching thousands of acres and threatening scores of homes.Smoke billows beyond the Los Angeles, California, skyline Saturday as fire raged in Angeles National Forest.Authorities confirmed three civilian injuries from a growing blaze known as the station fire burning through the Angeles National Forest-La Canada Flintridge.The blaze nearly quadrupled in size from 5,500 acres Friday to more than 20,000 acres, officials said. The blaze, which grew to more than 20,100 acres, was 5 percent contained early Sunday, officials said. It was upgraded to type 1 brush fire -- the most severe classification. Authorities consider the Station fire an anomaly, as it is not driven by strong winds as most California wildfires.The fire threatened about 10,000 homes in Los Angeles County and 900 homes were evacuated, she said. The Station fire disrupted power to 750 homes. More than 750 workers have been dispatched to control the blaze, which started Wednesday afternoon.Jorgensen confirmed one injury involving heat exhaustion.
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