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A firefighting air tanker drops Phos-Check fire retardant over the Piute fire as more than 1,400 wildfires continue to burn across about 550 square miles of central and northern California, on July 1, 2008 south of Isabella Lake, California. California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has declared a state of emergency in Kern County because of the Piute fire which is threatening several communities in the mountains east of Bakersfield, California. Firefighters have completed fire containment lines around 11 percent of the 11,500-acre fire growing in the Sequoia National Forest. Last week, President Bush declared a state of emergency for the entire state of California because of the hundreds of fires burning since dry lightning storms crossed the state on June 20. Making matters worse for the more than 19,000 firefighters from 42 other states battling the California wildfires, drought is wicking moisture from the vegetation which leads fire experts to fear a possible repeat of the firestorms of 2003 and 2007 that destroyed thousands of homes in southern California.

| Jul 3rd 2008 2:00PM

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