By Mountain Enterprise Staff

A federal state of emergency was proclaimed Tuesday as dry conditions and high winds elevated extreme fire danger throughout Southern California this week. Sixteen fires raged in seven counties.

On Sunday, Oct. 21 evacuations near Castaic and Santa Clarita began from many of the canyons. A FEMA Family Registry and Locator System call center at (800) 588-9822 allows people who have been separated from their families and friends to provide information about where they can be found. People looking for lost family members are also urged to call the toll-free number as they search for them.

Additional fires bordering the Mountain Communities are the Ranch fire in Ventura County (about 30 miles west of Pine Mountain on Monday) and the Canyon, Magic and Buckweed fires in Los Angeles County.

Mountain residents are urged to take extra caution to prevent fires and to prepare your property to be firesafe. The mountain’s Fire Safe Council invites the public to participate. They meet on the third Friday of each month at 9:30 a.m. at Chuchupate Ranger Station on Lockwood Valley Road. The next meeting will be on November 16.

The emergency proclamation by the state and federal governments includes the counties of Los Angeles, Ventura, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego and Santa Barbara.

This is part of the October 26, 2007 online edition of The Mountain Enterprise.

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