Better weather aids effort against wildfires

Associated Press

SANTA ROSA, Calif.

The winds eased, some of the smoke began to clear and the forecast Monday offered a tantalizing chance of rain to firefighters trying to corral the blazes that have laid waste to the nation’s most celebrated wine-making region.

The improving weather and tightening containment of the flames were tempered by the first death from the firefighting effort – a driver who was killed when his truck overturned on a winding mountain road.

After days of wind gusts that constantly fanned the fires, lighter wind offered a chance for crews to make greater gains, and thousands more people were allowed to go home more than a week after the blazes that have killed more than 40 people began.

Many of those who returned knew in advance whether their homes were standing or reduced to ash. Satellite images, aerial photos and news reports with detailed maps of entire neighborhoods had given homeowners in populated areas a pretty clear idea of the fire’s path. Some had seen the flames coming as they fled. Some families in rural areas had to wait until they laid eyes on their property.

The return home was emotional even for those whose properties were spared.

“When we came up to check on it, we were amazed it was here,” said Tom Beckman, who credited his neighbor’s two sheep with chomping vegetation surrounding his home and keeping the fires at bay.

“All the trivial things we have to work on – cleaning up, replacing the stuff in the fridge and freezer – that’s nothing compared to my friends who lost their homes,” Beckman said.

The smell of smoke remained thick in the air and spread to the San Francisco area, but skies were clearer in some places.