DATE=10/28/03

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=CALIFORNIA FIRES (S)

NUMBER=2-309149

BYLINE=MIKE O'SULLIVAN

DATELINE=LOS ANGELES

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: At least 10 major fires continue to rage in Southern California. The blazes have claimed 15 lives and destroyed more than 11 hundred houses. Mike O'Sullivan reports, this year's fires are being called the most destructive in the state in recent years.

TEXT: Fires start in California nearly every year in September or October, when hot Santa Ana winds blow from the desert, turning hillside foliage into potential tinder. But fires in recent years are increasingly destructive.

Suburban neighborhoods now cover hillsides that, just recently, were wilderness. This woman lives in Porter Ranch, a suburb north of Los Angeles that is one of the state's hot spots.

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It is scary when you see the flames coming over, creeping over the hills. You know, you just hope that the firemen are containing it.

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Firefighters are spread thin. This one says the task is difficult, with so many homes to protect.

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It is hard. And sometimes, we do not get to save them all. It is really hard for all of us.

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Firefighters hope that cool weather predicted for later this week will make their task easier. (SIGNED)

NEB/MOS/RAE/RH