1 killed in Calif. fires; more Guard troops coming

[Whoa_Nelly]

Source: AP

PARADISE, Calif. - Firefighting officials said Friday that one person died when a wildfire swept through a rural area of Northern California, a rare human casualty among the hundreds of blazes that have tormented the state for weeks.


Capt. Scott McLean of the state Department of Forestry and Fire Protection confirmed the death near the town of Concow but did not provide any details. He said the victim was not a firefighter.

A complex of blazes in Butte County already has destroyed 50 homes in Concow and forced some 10,000 residents of the nearby town of Paradise to flee.

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Elsewhere in California, a 154-square-mile fire along the scenic Big Sur coast claimed some outbuildings at the historic Tassajara Zen Mountain Center. But the center's director, David Zimmerman, reported on its Web site Thursday evening that the complex had mostly survived.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080711/ap_on_re_us/wildfires