Fire season

Southern California is currently on fire, with hot dry winds fueling fires around neighbourhoods on the fringes of Los Angeles. http://www.stuff.co.nz/4726651a12.html

Since Sunday, the blazes have scorched 15,000 acres, destroyed or damaged at least 50 structures, including 30 gutted mobile houses, and forced many hundreds to evacuate.

The more ferocious of two San Fernando Valley fires doubled in size overnight, authorities said.
A third fire broke out on Monday on the sprawling US Marine base of Camp Pendleton, 80 miles south of Los Angeles, forcing officials to evacuate thousands from base housing. Some 3,000 acres burned, and the fire was about 25 percent contained early Tuesday.

The simultaneous blazes, marking the first big conflagrations of the region's high fire-risk season - come one year after 30 wildfires swept through Southern California in one week, killing a dozen people, destroying 2,000 homes and forcing the historic evacuation of 500,000 residents.

An update:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/4727945a12.html


The New Zealand Fire Season began on October 1, but some little ...unmentionables... decided to start early in Porirua by setting fire to bits of Bothamley Park & Ngati Toa Domain before then. There have been at least 8 vegetation fires since the beginning of September. Some of the incidents have been arson, and police have dealt with some of the perpetrators.

Porirua operates either a Restricted fire season, or a Total Fire Ban. This means that you either need to have a permit to have an open-air fire, or you're not allowed to have one at all. For more information look on Porirua City Council's website - www.pcc.govt.nz - it's under Consents & Services - Licences & permits.