California's Siege of Fires Finally Eases — at a Cost

SACRAMENTO - California has finally contained the last of the more than 2,000 wildfires ignited by a freak June lightning storm, closing a siege that burned 1.4 million acres, destroyed hundreds of homes and kept fire crews on the line for two months.

At the peak in early July, more than 20,000 firefighters from across the country and as far away as Australia and New Zealand were on California fire lines. The state spent more than $500 million on suppression.

The fires killed at least 15 people, including nine firefighters whose helicopter crashed while ferrying a crew in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest this month — the deadliest aviation accident in the history of American wildland firefighting.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has proposed new fees to fund fire protection and tougher building rules for homes in fire zones, where much of the state's growth is occurring.

Fire ecologists warn the respite is seasonal. Autumn's Santa Ana winds, which drove last fall's catastrophic fires in Southern California, begin in October.

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Associated Press writers contributed to this report.

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