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Wind Dies Down in SoCal

As gusts slow, firefighters get reprieve, take preventative measures

By the Associated Press

Posted Nov 16, 2008 11:54 AM CST

(AP) – The winds have let up in Southern California,  giving some relief to firefighters battling wildfires that have destroyed hundreds of homes and forced thousands of residents to flee. Gusts in the Sylmar area of Los Angeles were down to 39mph, much lower than the roughly 80mph winds that fanned the huge wildfire there yesterday, the National Weather Service reports.

The wind has also slowed to 25 mph in Orange and Riverside counties, allowing firefighters there to set backfires to prevent flames from moving into more neighborhoods.

Power lines are threatened as Santa Ana winds move the Sylmar wild fire over the Angeles National Forest into the Newhall Pass, in Newhall, Calif., Saturday, Nov. 16, 2008.
Power lines are threatened as Santa Ana winds move the Sylmar wild fire over the Angeles National Forest into the Newhall Pass, in Newhall, Calif., Saturday, Nov. 16, 2008.   (AP Photo/Gus Ruelas)
Antoinette Cimmino, right, who just learned her home was saved, embraces Ruth Kamke, who lost her home, at an evacuation center at Sylmar High School, in Los Angeles Saturday, Nov. 15, 2008.
Antoinette Cimmino, right, who just learned her home was saved, embraces Ruth Kamke, who lost her home, at an evacuation center at Sylmar High School, in Los Angeles Saturday, Nov. 15, 2008.   (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)
A firefighter tries to save a home during a wildfire that destroyed several homes, Saturday, Nov. 15, 2008, in the Sylmar area of Los Angeles.
A firefighter tries to save a home during a wildfire that destroyed several homes, Saturday, Nov. 15, 2008, in the Sylmar area of Los Angeles.   (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
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Copyright 2012 Newser, LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. AP contributed to this report.

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