US | California wildfires Calif. Firefighters Battle 2 Huge Blazes Predicted heat wave will magnify 1,700 fires in Calif. By Kate Rockwood Posted Jul 6, 2008 3:03 PM CDT Copied Firefighter Brian Britton, of Ojai, Calif., throws flares unto a hillside during a backburn operation along Highway 1 in Big Sur, Calif., Sunday, July 6, 2008. (AP Photo) Thousands of California firefighters battled a huge blaze today that threatened homes in Santa Barbara County, but lost ground to another fire near Big Sur, the Los Angeles Times reports. And weather likely will not help: Winds, lightning strikes, and fierce heat are expected to hit the state this week. "That just gives us a day of lull," a forest service official said. "The calm before the storm." Hundreds of other fires have sprung up around the state. "When you wake up one morning and have 500 fires across the state, it was a real shock to me," Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger told a group of evacuees yesterday. "Only to find the next morning there were 1,000 fires, and the next morning 1,400 fires, and then 1,700 fires igniting over 14 days." Read These Next Former NFL QB Mark Sanchez out of hospital, facing charges. NFL fans see same costly gaffe two weeks in a row. Jane Goodall wanted Musk and Trump on a rocket to Mars. Government shutdown enters week two with no end in sight. Report an error