To OP i.e. - NMR - I hope the wimpy Florida "fire department" can get
their measly fires put out ASAP as they seem to be inept.

Let's see them deal with this:

Residents fled from rural communities in the north, east and southern
County Tuesday as fires continued to rage out off control for a third day.

Exhausted fire crews were pulled back in the County even though two
devastating blazes threatened to merge into a super fire.

"They're so fatigued that despite the fact the fire perimeter might
become much larger, we're not willing to let the firefighters continue
any further," said Rich Hawkins, a U.S. Forest Service fire chief. "They
are too fatigued from three days of battle."

Firefighters told NBC 7/39 that they feared hundred of homes would burn
in Wynola and Pine Valley late Tuesday. All residents from Pine Valley,
Wynola, Santa Ysabel and Julian were ordered to leave and drive east
down Highway 78 to the desert town of Borrego Springs.

The flames are feeding on millions of dead trees, weakened by drought
and killed by a bark beetle infestation. Officials were particularly
worried about "crowning," where flames leap from one treetop to another,
leaving firefighters on the ground all but powerless to stop them.

"If that occurs, we don't have the capability to put those fires out,"
U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman Carol Beckley said. "It will be a
firestorm."

Officials also began evacuating residents from Palomar Mountain as the
northern edge of the Paradise Fire approached. And to the south,
firefighters were trying to protect rural homes in the Descanso area
from the southern flank of the Cedar Fire. By 6 p.m., several homes had
been destroyed, NBC 7/39 reported.

Ten thousand firefighters were on the front lines throughout the state,
battling California's deadliest wildfires in more than a decade.

Authorities announced two more deaths in San Bernardino County on
Tuesday, bringing the death toll from the fires to 16. The number had
been at 17, but San Diego County authorities lowered their figure by one.

Since Oct. 21, at least 10 wind-driven wildfires -- many of them
arson-caused -- have rampaged through Southern California, demolishing
neighborhoods, gutting businesses and blackening more than half a
million acres of land from the Mexican border to the Ventura-Los Angeles
county line. Nearly 1,600 homes have been destroyed.

"This may be the worst disaster the state has ever faced and is likely
to be the costliest," Gov. Gray Davis said, estimating the cost at
nearly $2 billion. He added: "This is a total disaster. It reminds me of
when I was in Vietnam, communities were burned out."

In San Bernardino County, firefighters struggled to defend resort towns
high in the mountains. The flames destroyed 20 structures on Strawberry
Peak and several homes in Rimforest, and threatened an estimated $3
billion worth of houses in the Crestline, Lake Arrowhead and Big Bear
areas, Peters said.

Working on narrow mountain roads, firefighters battled fires along the
20-mile stretch. About 80,000 full-time residents have been evacuated
from the mountains since Saturday.

"Just about everything is burning," said William Bagnell, fire chief of
the Crest Forest Fire Protection District.

The Cedar Fire is the largest in California. It has blackened more than
215,000 acres -- nearly 10 percent of the county. It formed a 45-mile
front in the East County and was just miles from merging with the
37,000-acre Paradise Fire fire.

"These fires actually create their own weather," said Dave Wheeler, a
state Forestry Department spokesman.

On the highway, high walls of flames lit up a mountain ridge. The blaze
sounded like an explosion as flames tore across the dry brush and trees.

Thirteen of the deaths over the past few days came as victims tried to
flee those two fires.

Glenn Wagner, chief medical examiner, said he expects the death toll to
rise as crews begin inspecting the hundreds of charred homes.

"This fire was so fast," he said. "I'm sure we're going to find folks
who simply never had a chance to get out of their houses."

Some victims died within view of a lake, a boating and fishing
destination in California. "Could you imagine looking out at all that
water in the Lake and still dying in the fire?" Wagner said.

Hawkins, of the Forest Service, said lunches intended for firefighters
on Monday were not delivered until Tuesday morning.

"It's like war. This whole fire has been a war so far," Hawkins said.
"What the firefighters are facing is a lack of sleep, a lack of food, a
lack of diesel fuel in some cases and a lack of logistical support."

Ken Hale, a state Forestry Department division chief who had been on the
fire line for 55 hours, said firefighters even drove to nearby towns to
gas up their vehicles and buy fast food. But it is all part of the job,
he said.

"As soon as I found out people had died, it changes the entire outlook
on the fire. It goes from being an adversary, a worthy adversary, to
something that's very deadly, a monster," Hale said as he headed for
some sleep.

Actually homes have been destroyed  the ones that are going on right now
have damaged, destroyed homes and forced evacutaions.

Protective purrs surrounding all of you in fire areas...

prrrr mrrrrrrrrt mrrrrrrrrrt(Jona)
prrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
(kneading)(Cherry)
Purrrurrrrrurrr (rolling) (Chibi)
PUUUURRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRUMBLEPRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR! (Emma)

Hisssssssssssssssss!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Fire stay away! Back
off!(Romeo)

and many prayers from their catslave Cantate