Wildfire Sweeps Across Catalina

Flocking foreigners capitalize on dollar

(NEWSER) - Near-continuous wildfires and soaring gas prices don’t seem to have made much of a dent in California’s tourism industry, the San Jose Mercury News reports. California's AAA reports only an 0.8% drop in Fourth of July domestic tourism, and a jump in visitors from abroad more than makes up the difference, travel officials say. More»

Skies still blue over park despite huge blaze

(NEWSER) - After five days of hard work, firefighters are making good progress against a wildfire raging near Yosemite National Park. The fire—started when a propane tank on a motor home traveling on one the main roads into the park exploded—has burned more than 5,000 acres and forced the evacuation of hundreds of people, reports the San Francisco Chronicle . More than a thousand firefighters are battling the blaze along steep canyon slopes. More»

State thins Santa Catalina Island herd humanely

(NEWSER) - Southern California's only herd of wild buffalo has been put on birth control. A conservation authority seeking to protect unique plant life on Santa Catalina Island, where buffalo have roamed since 14 of them were shipped out for a silent film in 1925, has been corralling the animals and injecting them with contraceptives. The move replaces earlier programs to cull or deport the bison. More»

At least not without major help from Uncle Sam

(NEWSER) - California’s wildfires haven’t just destroyed property and forestland, they’ve also scorched the state’s beleaguered budget, Time reports. Arnold Schwarzenegger didn't lay a finger on the state's forestry budget of $518 million, and more than doubled the state’s emergency fund for fighting wildfires this year to $182 million, but $108 million of that has already been spent. “We have literally burned through more than half of the emergency fire fund,” said a Finance Department spokesman. More»

(NEWSER) - The so-called Station Fire is closing in on Los Angeles residents who refused to evacuate with their neighbors over the weekend and are now trapped and in danger, KTLA reports. Five people are stranded in a canyon, according to the AP. "Those people were told to get out two days ago, and now we are putting our people in danger to get them out," says a LA County sheriff's department rep. More»